


We Can Love Again

by regalsoulmates



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-04-01 05:06:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 42,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4006936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regalsoulmates/pseuds/regalsoulmates
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Roland was taken by the shadow instead of Neal? What if, while in Neverland, he meets a kind woman named Regina who takes him in? And, the whole time, she has no idea he is the son of the man with the lion tattoo. OUTLAW QUEEN. 3x03 spoilers. I own nothing but the idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'll Keep You Safe

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So after the feels of the episode Quite a Common Fairy, I decided to start this fic. I really want Regina to be happy. So, here goes nothing! Also, this is a finished work I have written in fanfiction- I just thought it would be fun to share it on other sites as well. Some of you may know me as E.M.Bryant97 on fanfiction- it wouldn't let me make an account under that name, so I went with my tumblr URL instead. I'll try to post an update once or twice a week. Hope you all enjoy!

Massive French doors swung open, letting in a howling wind with a eerie bang. Silence pierced through the air like daggers. A hovering, black creature slid trough the window, eyes glowing in the most inhuman way possible. They locked on something just a few feet ahead of the shadow monster- a child, who looked so absolutely terrified he was frozen with his mouth slightly open.

Quickly, the shadow lunged towards him, grabbing one of his fragile arms and lifting him into the air; the child screamed frantically as two men came racing towards him for rescue. The shadow fled towards the window, still gripping the fighting child, as the men shouted the boys name with utter desperation. One of the men, the father, lunged for the monster, only to be returned with hitting the cold floor.

Seeing its chance, the shadow sped through the window and up into the lucid air. The other man could only watch in utter horror as it, and the boy, vanished into the cloudy night sky towards the only visible star. Neverland.  
\--

The air was biting cold against his small red cheeks as he fled through the forest.

The boy had no idea where he was.

"Well aren't you cute; you'll make a fine lost boy."

Those words rang cruelly in his ears. That boy was scary, evil almost. "You'll like it here. We get to play whenever we want."

"I- I don't wanna be here," his small voice heaved back sobs, "I want my Papa. I want to go home."

The bigger boy smiled as if he were amused. "Adults are never fun. They don't see things the way we kids do."

The night was so black the boy couldn't see three feet in front of him. The only sounds heard was the thudding of his feet against broken leaves and the pounding of his heart.

He couldn't let them catch him.

Escape was actually easier than expected; the boy simply waited for everyone to drift off in their hammocks. But he was four years old; he didn't know what to do. So he just ran.

After what felt like an eternity, his little legs gave out and he fell to the dirt floor, surrounded by damp leaves that made him tremble. In surrender, he curled himself into a tight ball and cried, wanting nothing more than the nightmare to end.  
\--

It was beginning to seem pointless, the search for her son. They were always too quick, too nimble, always one step ahead of them. A week had gone by, and they were getting absolutely nowhere.

"Maybe we should venture out to the caves, maybe that's where they are," Snow White's annoyingly optimistic voice finally spoke to the discouraged crowd. Emma and the rest of them barely gave a shoulder shrug in response.

"I guess we could try, but they'll probably have moved by the time we get there," Emma said distastefully, folding her arms.

She couldn't take it any longer. They were getting nowhere.

"Hey- Regina, where are you going?"

She didn't answer. Instead she continued walking blindly through the forest, not really caring where she was headed. She had to get away from them. She couldn't take it.

Once she was completely alone, Regina finally broke down in tears, ones she had kept inside of her since their arrival. Why him, why her son? Did she really do something bad enough to deserve all this?

She covered her mouth with her hands in attempt to cover her sobs, soon leaning up against a tree because she knew she would collapse with out it.

I hate this dreadful island. I want Henry back and then I want to leave.

She kept repeating this to herself in her head, though every time she said it the forest around her seem to taunt her even more.

Finally, Regina gave it up; she tried taking deep breaths to calm herself down, though it didn't seem to work. She squeezed her eyes shut, resting her head up against the tough bark of the tree.

I need a sign. I need a sign so I know there's hope in getting my son back and everything will be okay.

Regina wasn't directing the words to anyone in particular; she just needed to say it. Opening her eyes, she waited about five seconds in complete silence before she laughed to herself. How naive she was, believing in things like a little girl would in prayer. People like her didn't get happy endings.

But then, she heard something. It was faint, but Regina could hear someone crying. Her mind told her she was hearing things, but she wasn't so sure. The sound sparked a light inside of her- the cry had to belong to a small boy. She would know. The spark soon escalated into an automatic instinct of hers as she began wandering around the forest trying to pin the source of the sound.

If it weren't for his dark colored pajamas, she probably wouldn't have spotted him. But she did, and she began running towards him with concern in her eyes. Hearing her advancing closer to him, the boy poked his head up and stared, wide eyed at the woman towering over him. He wasn't sure if he should be scared or not, but she did have a kind smile on her face. She knelt down to her knees so she was more his height.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" She asked, heavy with concern.

When the child didn't give a reply, Regina spoke again. "You don't have to be afraid of me, I won't hurt you." She showed him both her palms for emphasis. His daddy always told him to not talk to strangers, but for some reason he knew he could trust this woman. He sat up slowly and brushed off the twigs and dirt that filled his hair.

"A flying black monster took me. Then some boys found me and wanted me to stay with them, but they were scary so I ran." He said these words with such innocence it left a pang on her heart.

"Are you from the Enchanted Forest?"

He nodded his head yes.

She then noticed a small blood stain on his arm sleeve, taking no hesitation in reaching for it to examine it.

"You got a cut," she said, rolling up his sleeve, "you shouldn't be out here alone by yourself."

She waved her hand over the cut and instantly the wound was healed, much to the boy's amazement. "You can do magic?" He asked curiously, looking up at her with excitement.

Regina smiled and replied, "it's a good kind of magic."

Then the boy did something unexpected. He moved forward and onto her lap, tangling his arms around her neck as he rested his head comfortably under her chin. It surprised her, but she took no hesitation in returning the affection by wrapping her arms around his small form comfortingly.

"Can I stay here with you?"

She hadn't been given this much love in such a long time. Regina almost had to hold back tears as she thought about Henry.

"Of course you can. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

The boy snuggled closer to her body at her response. He was always used to getting hugs from his dad, but never had a mother that would hug him. It felt... Nice.

"I'm Roland."

She ran her fingers through his short brown hair. "You can call me Regina."

Interesting, she thought, this boy was part of the few that still remained in the Enchanted Forest. She couldn't help but wonder who his family could be.


	2. Meeting Roland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina brings Roland to the camp to meet everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the attention so far! They motivate me to write, so keep it coming! To clarify a few things, yes, Tinkerbell is in this story. I was aiming to start it right where episode 3 left off, but there might be a few slight changes here and there. Enjoy!

The sun had risen high in the sky by the time the two got back to camp. Although it was still early in the day, Roland was tired. His eyes were heavy and every once in a while, Regina could catch his head droop like a bobble head doll.

"Come on, let's get you back so you can meet everyone else." Regina said in a small laugh, seeing his eyes blink a few times just to focus on her voice. She got a better hold on the four year old before hoisting him up with her, supporting his weight on her hip as she walked. As if on queue, Roland completely drifted off onto her shoulder.

Regina hoped she was going in the right direction; she only judged it by the little she remembered from her angry huff that got her there in the first place. Out of everything that was flooding through her mind during that time, finding a child was not one of them. She was somewhat impressed she had walked so far in such little time.

After a few minutes, they finally entered an area that was strikingly familiar- she knew that's where she left all the others just an hour or so before. Regina knew the reactions from everyone wouldn't be pretty.

She saw David first, he was with Hook and he seemed to be pretty happy with himself. He was subtly sticking something in his back pocket- pixie dust, maybe? Regina didn't care. As long as he wasn't dying the prince could have any secret relationship he wanted.

David averted his eyes towards her direction when he heard the sound of crunching leaves, but he didn't say anything. After double taking two or three times, both Hook and David came at her with questionable faces.

"Umm... Did I miss something, love? I thought Henry was twelve." Hook scratched his head, completely dumbfounded.

Regina found she was already tired of answering questions. She hated the attention. "I found him out in the woods by himself, he needs someone."

"Wait wait wait, so you just kidnapped a random child that was wandering out here?" David asked completely astonished. This was a new level of insane for her.  
Regina rolled her eyes. "No, I already told you, he was all alone."

"Where in the world did you get a kid?" Now it was Emma's turn to be surprised as she came to check out the commotion.

"He was hurt!"

"How do you know he's not a lost boy?"

"Are you kidding me, he's four years old!"

"You never know!"

"Guys why are we yelling?" Snow snapped, freezing in her place when she saw Regina.

"Uh, who's he?" Tinkerbell asked, following her closely behind.

"Look, he's asleep, quit yelling." Regina protested, walking past them irritably. Everyone that remained exchanged glances between one another. Nobody knew what to say exactly.

Emma turned to watch Regina lay the small boy down on her bed, watching in particular the look she had on her face. She was so calm, so peaceful- she hadn't seen her like this before. Nor wasn't sure about what could possibly come out of it. Regina tucked a small blanket around his body, keeping her eyes locked on him for a moment.  
Emma didn't want to tick her off any more than the rest of them apparently had, but she needed answers. She walked over towards the sleeping boy and took a seat down next to Regina.

"Look, I'm not mad at you or anything, you know that right?"

Regina laughed. "Well Miss Swan, that's sure a relief."

"Why did you run off during our discussion? You know none of us can go off by our selves around here, it's dangerous."

"If you want an honest answer," she began, "I left because for a moment, I gave up on everything. I thought there was no hope in getting Henry back. And because you guys get even more annoying when you're clueless- it's like taking a road trip with a bunch of farm animals."

Emma chuckled, though she knew she should be offended by her comment. Regina Mills was sure something else.

"So, he was just... There, alone, in the middle of nowhere?"

Regina nodded, taking the excuse to steal another sideways glance towards Roland. Completely conked out, he had his chin tucked into his body, his hair messy and disheveled- in other words, he looked absolutely adorable, Emma admitted to that.

"Well... I don't see any harm in keeping him here with us," Emma shrugged, "he's your problem though. I hope you realize that."

Regina smiled, tilting her head to the side. "I raised Henry, didn't I?"

She saw that one coming. There was no why she could insult her mother skills with that one hanging over her like a cloud. "Yeah yeah, just try getting more information out of him when he wakes up." Emma paused for a second before lighting up suddenly.

"Wait. Regina, did he say anything about meeting the Lost Boys?"

"Yeah, he said he ran away from them when the shadow dropped him off here."

"Do you think he remembers where they were at?" Her voice was getting excited now.

Regina knew the direction she was headed, and, quite frankly, it excited her too. "Maybe. Do you really think we would be able to find them before they move again?"

"If he saw them yesterday night, there's a high chance,"

"Does Tinkerbell have the whole portal thing worked out with the dust she got?"

Emma looked over her shoulder towards the blonde woman. "I'll have to ask her," she leaned in slightly, unable to keep a smile off her face. "Regina, this could be it. We could get Henry back soon. And it's all thanks to..." She drifted off, still not knowing the boy's name.

"Roland," Regina told her, "he's exactly what we needed."  
\--

They were both staring blankly into the darkness. Two sets hands gripped the hard iron railing, knuckles turning white with desperation.

He was gone.

Neal looked sadly towards the shaken father, a man who was once completely fearless and optimistic in his eyes just hours before.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Robin, I really thought it would work."

Robin didn't turn around when he spoke; he simply kept his eyes tilted upwards towards the bright star that had claimed his son. "But it didn't." His voice was hard as stone. "He's gone."

Neal hated the way he felt inside- awful. He shouldn't have made him use his boy for his own selfish reasons. "Maybe there's a way to make a portal back-"

"This is all your fault!" Robin hissed, spinning around to face him dead on. The expression on his face was indescribable; it was a mixture of pain, tears, and blazing anger. He raised his fist and he punched him hard, causing Neal to stumble back a few feet. He knew he wasn't going to fight back, he was right. He had caused all of this to happen.

Instead, he caught his arm before he could hit him again. "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean for this to happen. But my son's out there too, which means we both need to find a way back there. And if we work together, we can do that."

Robin gritted his teeth together, not wanting to accept the fact that he was right. He thought of his little boy, the only thing he had to remind him of his wife, out tree alone in Neverland, with absolutely nobody to take care of him like he did. What did he do to deserve all this?  
\--

When he awoke, he could hear people talking nearby. He began to feel nervous- that wasn't Regina's voice. In fact, there were multiple voices he could hear. Roland's eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the intense sunlight. He could make out a man and a woman talking to one another about something. The man was wearing blue jeans and a navy t shirt with a holster while the woman wore a white jacket a dark colored boots. He didn't see Regina anywhere yet.

Slowly, he rolled himself into a sitting position and gazed around, still in a sleepy haze. Almost immediately after he did this, he got the attention he really didn't want.

"Oh look, the kid's awake!" The woman with the white jacket exclaimed, standing up and walking towards him. She was followed by many other unfamiliar faces, and soon, they were all staring at him like he was from another planet.

"Your name is Roland, right?" Emma asked first, putting a nice smile on her face. The boy, still sleepy, simply nodded shyly, eyes darting around at all the people he didn't know. There were lots of them.

"I'm Emma. And this is Hook, Tinkerbell, Snow..."

She began listing so many names to him he started to tune her out. By the time she was done, everyone was looking at him like they expected an answer from him. But it was he who needed answers.

"Where's Regina?" He asked in a small voice.

"Regina?" Emma repeated, "I have no idea. She left a few minutes ago. Probably went to the bathroom or something."

"Well if she has magic then why can't she just-"

"Snow!" David interjected, cutting his wife off.

"Just wondering," she grumbled, turning her attention back to the boy.

"Don't worry kid, she'll be back soon." Emma reassured, seeing the panicked look on his face. "In the meantime, why don't you tell us a little bit about what happened once you got on the island."

Roland didn't want to talk to these people, let alone answer their questions. "It was dark, the boys were older than me and really scary." He said, beginning to fiddle with his shirt sleeve.

"But you didn't see where you were?" Emma pressed, "no landmarks, nothing you can remember?"

Roland shook his head, feeling sick to his stomach. "No."

"Oh good, you woke up!" Came a familiar voice from behind, causing the boy to jump up to his feet and run towards her.

"Regina!" He shouted, hugging her legs, "you came back!"

Everyone else stared in shock as the lifeless lump of a boy turned into a bubbling ball of energy in a matter of seconds.

"Well of course I came back," Regina smiled, picking him up, "what've you been up to?"

"We, uh, just wanted to get to know him." Snow said, amazed in the expression that was on her stepmothers face- was that a genuine smile?

"Maybe you could ask him some questions?" Emma raised her eyebrows slightly, hoping she caught the innuendo. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Not with you people crowded around him like he's on display."

She flicked her hand toward the group. "Shoo."

Everyone slowly dispersed in every which way, leaving Roland and Regina alone after a few seconds. "I have to keep you around more often," she smiled, "they'll do whatever I say when I have you."

She tapped his nose playfully as he giggled. "They kept asking me things. I don't really like them." Roland muttered.

"Oh don't mind them, they're harmless." Regina answered, "they're just impatient is all. Do you want me to tell you why we need to know those answers?"

He nodded tentatively, and she began.

"Well, it's kind of a long story. But I have a son that's out here with those boys you saw, and we need to find him."

"You have another boy besides me?" Roland asked sadly, not believing his ears.

"Yes, but he's older than you,"

"Does he hug you like I do?" He squeezed her harder, causing Regina to laugh.

"He hasn't for a while. I miss his hugs." She said in all honestly, "but I like your hugs. They make me happy."

Roland smiled. He was glad he made her happy.

"Anyways, we have to find him so we can leave this island as fast as we can. You know the girl over there in the green dress? She found some pixie dust recently that can make a portal back to the enchanted forest."

"I want to get off this island. It's a scary place."

"So now that you know why we need to find the lost boys, is there anything you remember from last night?" Regina asked tentatively, watching his face scrunch up in thought.

"Well... There was this one thing," he started, "there was a huge tree trunk I saw, it was empty inside. One of them stuck their hand inside and then the clearing where they were at wasn't there anymore. I saw them do it when I was running away."

Regina tried thinking through what he was saying. A hollow in a tree... That's all they had to find. She should've guessed they had some form of magic. It all made sense.

"Thank you Roland, you have no idea how helpful that was."

He smiled, pleased with himself, and rested his head against her chest, listening to her steady heartbeat.

This moment, this simple moment, standing in the middle of a land filled with such misery and anguish, made her happier than she had felt in a very long time.

"Do you think your son will like me?" He asked quietly, slightly scared of the answer.

"I know he will. Henry will love having another boy to talk to."

That was, if they were able to rescue him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, totally left this on a positive note... But writing Roland and Regina stuff is just so cute!


	3. The Hollow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! I'm really trying to hurry and kick them out Neverland so Regina can meet up with Robin... So if it feels rushed that's why. Thank you guys for all the reviews, follows, and favs I've gotten so far, y'all are the best!

The man that stood before them wasn't at all what either of them had expected. This man seemed so old and frail; Neal wondered how on earth he was still alive. Nevertheless, Merlin was said to be the smartest magician that remained in the Enchanted Forest, so both Robin and Neal decided to give him a shot. Neal wanted a way to get to Neverland as fast as possible- having an angry father as a traveling companion wasn't fun to the slightest.

"Is there any way to create a portal to another realm?" Robin asked, haste in his voice.

The man, Merlin, gave him a small smile, trying to convey at least some hope in the situation.

"There is a way, yes, but it is... Difficult." He said, sounding extremely frail as he spoke.

"My little boy is out there. I'll do anything to get him back." Robin impatiently said, "just tell us what we need to do."

"There's a rare talisman that can be used to generate enough power for a portal." He explained, "lucky for you, I happen to have one with me."

Neal narrowed his eyes. "What's your price?"

Merlin let out a small chuckle. "I would expect nothing less from the son of Rumplestiltskin."

"How did you know?" He asked, surprised he had guessed it so quickly.

"You look like him, that's why." Merlin said matter of factly, "and I can't think of one other person in this realm that would want to go to Neverland. It's an awful place,"

Neal sighed. "So it's that easy then- just a talisman and boom, a portal?"

"When a talisman is used, it creates a channel between both realms. Sometimes they don't always work... I don't know how strong the magic is of the people in Neverland." He said, disheartedly. "I'm sorry, that's the only advice I can give you."

"It's okay, thank you so much for the help." Robin let out a small smile towards the older man.

With a poof of purple magic, a small, circular object appearing in the palm of his hand.

"I really do hope you get your son back," Merlin said as he handed Robin the object. "You might end up getting more than you bargained for on this journey of yours."  
Robin was confused at his statement, but he simply nodded another thank you and started off towards the door with Neal at his side.

"Are you prepared for all of this?" Neal asked anxiously, "Neverland isn't exactly a place you look forward to visiting."

Robin didn't bother shifting his eyes as he spoke. "My son means more to me than anything else in the world. If saving him means going through hell and back, so be it."  
\--

"Do we have to leave right now?"

With a wave of her hand, the whole camp cleared away as if it hadn't been there at all.

"Saving Henry is pretty important, remember?" Regina answered, taking one final look around before turning towards the others.

"I can use a tracking spell to find the tree hollow," she told them, "shouldn't be that much of a journey considering it only took him a couple hours to get here."

"But he was running," Snow objected, "we're not sprinting all the way there are we?"

Regina gave her a look with her brown eyes. "Not unless you want to."  
Roland stamped his foot against the ground impatiently. "I want to meet Henry!"

"Okay kid, we're going," Emma smirked, following Hook towards the direction of the glowing yellow footprints that emitted off the jungle floor, heading due west.

Regina looked down at the boy. "Do you think you can walk or will I have to carry you the whole way there?"

Roland responded by looking up at her with his huge brown eyes, his mouth forming a pout; he knew it worked every time with his daddy.

"Okay fine, get over here." Regina caved in to his cuteness in no time at all and lifted him to his feet, following the others on the shining path. Inside, she wasn't sure what to feel. They were so close to finding Henry it seemed unreal- just a few days ago, they were just a couple of lost people hopelessly wandering over a god- forsaken island.

Now, they had a plan.  
\--

Tinkerbell watched Regina with slightly narrowed eyes from behind. She was so intrigued with this new behavior of the evil queen- it was so unexpected, especially to her. Last time she had an encounter with her, she acted like a complete and total bitch. If she thought she could become mother of the year just like that, she was horribly wrong. The blue fairy was right, there was no one who could save her; not even this child.

"That's it, that's it!" Roland suddenly exclaimed, shattering the uneasy silence.

Emma turned around, anticipation showing in her eyes "Are you sure?"

He nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. Regina set him down on his feet, trying to decide what to do with him.

"Okay Roland, we have to go in there and get Henry," Regina said softly, "they won't see us coming, so you don't have to worry. All you have to do is stay here."

Roland frowned. "But what if something happens to you?"

"I have magic, remember? I'll be okay, promise." She reassured, wrapping her arms around him.

Emma went over to the trunk and stuck her hand inside, not really knowing what she was looking for.

"Now stay here, promise?"

Reluctantly, the boy nodded. "Promise..."

"I think I got it guys!" Emma said hastily, causing Regina to spin around towards the hollow in the tree.

"We have to play our cards right here. Tinkerbell, you're sure you can create the portal as fast as you can?"

"Of course, your majesty," she replied sarcastically, "just keep them away from me and we should be good to go."

Everyone exchanged glances. "We got this guys, we should be used to fighting people by now." Emma said in a feeble attempt to arouse the group.

The scene before them began to shift as Hook properly deactivated the wall that kept them from their predecessors; it began transforming into a different image right before their eyes.

Regina couldn't help but turn to look at the boy one last time, the terrorized expression on his face the same one he wore when they first met one another. When she turned her attention back to what lay in front of her, she saw a gigantic evening fire roaring in the middle of the Lost Boys, all seeming to be enjoying themselves as they talked and ate.

Peter Pan was the first to turn around, smiling warmly as if they were invited guests when he saw them. "Well it's about time you all showed up!" He exclaimed, "I thought we could have a nice little party together."

Emma stepped forward, her face glowering towards the person who had kidnapped her boy. "Where is Henry?"

Peter continued to grin, holding up a frayed rope in his hands. "You mean this Henry?" He pulled on the rope, causing the twelve year old to jerk forwards, his hands bound and his mouth covered.

"Come and get him!"

In a flash, all the Lost Boys advanced for them, unsheathing their weapons. The scene burst to life, arrows flying and swords clanging every which way. Regina immediately began scanning the area for Pan, who wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Now who's this little guy?" She heard his voice behind her and she jumped, turning to see Peter holding Roland by the back of his shirt so he was hanging loosely in the air. He was screaming and kicking, fighting to get away from the boy, making her slightly panicked.

"Let him go!" she demanded coldly, opening her hand to form a fireball.

"Nope, that won't work," he chided, the fire extinguishing as soon as he said it.

"Did you replace Henry already?"

She didn't answer; instead, she lunged forwards to grab him- only to be met by empty air.

"Oh, you're going to have to try harder than that." He taunted, "if you honestly think you can escape this island, you're wrong. Don't think I don't know what Tinkerbell is doing. We'll kill all of you before you can even step through it."

She turned her attention towards the others, who seemed to already be struggling. Peter mused in the slight flicker of fear in the queen's eyes.

"Just give up, Regina. I'll spare this one's life. He doesn't deserve to be tortured by you anyways."

It seemed like an easy answer, giving up. But she looked into Roland's eyes, she saw the trust he had gained for her in the little time he had known her, and she realized it was the other way around. It was she who didn't deserve him.

Regina faced him without a glint of fear. "I can't do that. He means too much to me."

Suddenly, she felt a surge of power run through her- a power she hadn't felt before. She raised her hand out towards him and sent a bright blast in his direction, knocking the evil mastermind right off his feet, causing the other Lost Boys to freeze right in their tracks. Roland fell gently back to his feet, staring up at her with amazement.

David and Snow took their chance to overpower the Lost Boys while Emma darted towards where Henry lay. Peter looked up at Regina with a confused look on his face, his smirk wiped off his face.

"I never thought it would be you, Regina," he muttered before his entire being became swallowed up in the earth, leaving nothing in his place but bare grass.

Regina headed straight for Henry, her heart racing excitedly as Emma began loosening the binding around him.

"Mom!" He cried, throwing his arms around Emma once he was free. Regina fell to her knees in front of him with tears in her eyes. She missed him so much.

"You found me!" Henry grinned, hugging her as well. "I knew you would!"

"We have to get out of here," Regina said softly, wiping away her son's tears, "we have a way out."

She exchanged a small smile towards Emma before standing up to face Snow and David, the last of the Lost Boys falling to the ground.

"You got Henry?" David asked towards them, a smile already on his face as he saw his grandson.

"I've got the portal ready!" Yelled Tinkerbell, just as a large blue field of magic appeared in the now empty field, the sky darkening behind it.

Regina made her way back to Roland and scooped him up in her arms. "See, I told you things would work out." She smiled, hugging him close.

"Uh, mom, who's that?" Henry asked, a confused look on his face.

"Let's save introductions for later, okay? Right now, we're getting out of here; for good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd we're done with Neverland, yay! I decided not to have Henry become brainwashed on here, becasue that would just add to the problems they'll face. Regina has more strength than she knows! Could this be real love between her and Roland?


	4. Her Second Chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys... get ready for some feels. I have a feeling you'll all love me after you finish reading this chapter ;)

The blinding light soon surrounded them. They were engulfed by it, swallowed into the portal that was headed straight for the land where it all began- the Enchanted Forest. Going through a portal was indescribable; it carried a different feeling to every single person. To Regina, it felt like every fiber in her body had turned into a stretched out rubber band while her head spun around in her own carousel of panic and worry. In other words, she hated portals.

It was impossible to calculate time while within a portal, everything was jumbled. But, eventually, the electric blue currents dissipated into the cool night air and the eight of then soon found themselves lying on a freezing stone floor.

They all lay there, right next to each other, letting out some moans and winces after the aftershock had passed.

"We left... My ship... She's abandoned in Neverland..."

"I hate portals..." Snow muttered, staring up at the starry night sky.

"Me too." Emma responded sarcastically, who still had a pretty good hold on Henry.

"That was awesome!" He exclaimed, the first one to sit up and look around. His eyes widened when he discovered two men staring back at him with perplexed looks on their faces- one of them was instantly familiar.

"Dad!" Henry jumped to his feet and ran towards Neal, his arms already outstretched. He crashed into his father's arms and let himself become engulfed in his love.

Emma soon followed, not believing what she saw. "Neal?"

His eyes locked with hers, and smiles were exchanged before she ran over to him as well, taken in welcomely by her past lover and her son.

Robin smiled towards the reunited family, his attention soon veering back to the remaining people in desperate search for his lost boy. His heart leapt inside of his chest when he saw him, Roland, locked securely in the arms of a woman who was quickly scanning his body for injuries.

"Roland!" He shouted to his son, getting his attention and causing him to wiggle out of Regina's hold on him.

"Daddy!"

Regina watched with a tender smile as the four year old ran to his father, the man lifting him off his feet and pressing a kiss against the side of his head. It was sweet, but it also left a bitter residue on her heart- now that Roland had his family back, he didn't need her. She was foolish to believe she could find permanent love in that boy; she should have known. That would've been too easy.

Looking over her shoulder, Regina realized that Snow and David had left to talk with Neal and Emma, and Tinkerbell was engaged in a conversation with the pirate about something of the past- she was completely alone. She slowly stood up and brushed the soot off her clothes, trying to pass through the time idly as much she could.

"That's the lady who saved me daddy, that's her!" Her head snapped forwards surprisingly at the sound of the little boy's voice, soon realizing that both him and his father were walking over towards her.

The man seemed nice; he wore a kind smile with a light dancing in his eyes like small flames.

"You?" He asked, rather tentatively, "you're the one that saved my son's life?"

Regina was taken aback by the absolute sincerity in his voice. It was a rare thing to see the queen absolutely speechless- this was one of those rare times. "It was nothing, really..."

The man smiled lightheartedly, tears gleaming in his eyes. "It's definitely not nothing. I can't thank you enough for what you did!"

Regina found herself fascinated with his smile. She hadn't seen anyone smile like that... To her... Ever. She could feel her cheeks reddening slightly. God, what was happening to her?

"She's really nice dad, she made Neverland less scary." Roland said, still under his father's secure hold.

"Well, I suppose this means we're both forever in your debt." That smile of his continued to leave her dumbstruck.

"I'm Robin by the way. Robin Hood." He then extended his right arm towards her.

"Reg-"

Then she saw it. It was quite big, the mark imprinted on his skin. Her mouth remained open, the last half of her name never leaving, replaced by uncomfortable silence. Everything suddenly melted around her; the only thing that remained in her vision was the lion tattoo.

"Are you alright?" He asked with concern, seeing her face turn a chalky white for no apparent reason. He retracted his arm and waited patiently for a response.

"Regina," Roland finished for her sake, "her name is Regina and she's my friend."

The sound of his voice brought her back to her senses. She blinked a couple times, her mind running out of its way to come up with something to say.

"Yeah. Uh, sorry, I'm not usually like this..." She let out a feeble laugh as she began messing with her hair, absentmindedly distracting herself.

Really, that's all you could come up with? Her mind barked at her, you sound like a complete idiot!

Amidst all of her own happiness, Emma couldn't help but begin listening in on what Regina and Roland's father were talking about. The scene baffled her completely- was Regina really acting like an obscene schoolgirl at the moment? No, it couldn't be. Regina was as strict and uptight as they came; there was literally no possible way.

"You must have been through quite a lot to get here," Robin smiled, "you two will have to tell me all about it."

"Can Regina come and see our house?" Roland asked excitedly, "I really want her to see my room. Please dad?"

There it was, that damn smile again.

"Well... What do you say, Regina?"

He said her name in such a fond way. "I- I don't know what my plans will be for the best few days... Coming here wasn't exactly planned until a few hours ago."

"I'm sure you'll have enough time to have a little meet up," Emma's voice came from behind Robin, causing Regina to send her a tenacious glare when he wasn't looking.

"Actually, Mary Margret and I were just talking about taking a tour to her- your… castle tomorrow afternoon. Henry's pretty ecstatic about finally being in the Enchanted Forest."

"Great, so sounds like you're free then," Robin said, resulting in a hooray from his son.

"Miss Swan I am perfectly able to make decisions for myself you know," Regina tried hard to keep her voice calm. She could see the pleasure flickering in her eyes.

"Just trying to help." She replied innocently, flashing a smile in her direction. "I'm Emma by the way."

"Robin. Pleased to meet you."

He then turned back to Regina. "I guess that's a plan then. Let's meet back here tomorrow at noon."

Regina could only give him a weak smile for a reply. If she made it out of her situation alive, she was going to murder Emma Swan.

"Anything for the person my son adores so much," Robin let out a faint laugh, "we should be starting on our way home. It was nice meeting you."

She waved a goodbye to Roland as they started off for the villages, leaving Emma in their place as she watched them leave.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or does Regina have a crush on the hunky guy with the arrows?"

"What? Mom, you like that guy?" Henry asked in awe, his mouth slightly agape.

"Looks like fate decided to give you a second chance," Tinkerbell smirked, "if I were you I wouldn't blow this one honey."

Maybe she's right… Regina thought, maybe fate did have something positive in store for her after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THEY FINALLY MEET! Ugh, I'm already so obsessed with them being together... who knows how long it'll take the show to actually get them to meet each other. Now on the subject of Emma who should she end up with eventually, Hook or Neal? Personally, I ship Captain Swan, but I'm really not sure where I'll go in this story. Tell me what you think :)
> 
> And for everyone who wonders where Rumple is, don't worry, he'll be in here soon!


	5. Cozy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regina's gonna spend more time with Robin and Roland! Hope you guys like!

The room they had been ushered into was extremely tiny for eight exhausted people who had just survived Neverland.

"Are sure this is the only room available?" David asked the employee for the third time, eyeing around the area with concern. There were only two beds, both of them small, a couple lamps resting on wooden tables, and a single window on the adjacent wall.

"We've been busy all this weekend. The trolls finished their migration to this part of the Enchanted Forest."

Snow shrugged. "I suppose we could all squeeze in..."

Her husband pulled out some bills from his back pocket and handed it to the man. The employee stared confused at the money, but gave a curt nod and walked away, leaving the group alone to stare at the shoebox of a room.

"Alright, how are we gonna decide who gets the beds?" Emma asked, already knowing the dispute wouldn't end well.

"Well I think I should get a bed," Henry stated, "after all I was taken hostage for a week and a half."

Regina sighed, looking towards the fairy. "I think Tinkerbell should take one. She was out there for a whole lot longer than we were."  
Everyone looked towards the former queen in surprise. Regina being selfless?

"Sounds good to me," Emma shrugged, "but Henry, you're small... Maybe you could choose one of us to share the bed with you?" Even Henry knew by that she wanted to be that person. He looked uncertainty over towards Regina, suddenly feeling like he was caught in the middle.

"Sure Emma, you can sleep next to me," he finally said, "but you can switch off with Regina tomorrow."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I can live with that."

They then settled into the small room, everyone settling on the floor as quickly as possible so they could sleep. Before she did though, Regina went over to her son and gave him a hug.

"I'm so glad you're back," she smiled, "you have no idea how much I missed you."

Henry returned her hug. "I missed you too." He looked up at her skeptically. "So what's with that little kid mom? I saw the way you were looking at him."

Regina let out a quiet laugh. "Jealous, are we?"

"No," he retorted defensively, "I just... Don't want you to replace him with me, that's all."

She held him tighter when she heard his comment- she didn't even think about him saying those words.

"I don't know if I could ever love anyone else the way I love you Henry. Roland is a sweet boy but he could never be like you." Regina paused, hoping she got her wording correct. "I've only known Roland for a little while but... he makes me happy."

She knew this would eventually turn into a conversation about his father, so she decided to cut it off there. "Have a good sleep; I'll be right over there if you need me."

"Night mom." He said with a yawn stretching over his mouth, laying down next to Emma on the bed.

Regina walked over to a free spot on the wooden floor and took off her jacket, balling it into a makeshift pillow before laying down. She, like everyone else, was downright tired.

But even after she closed her eyes, the image of the man with the lion tattoo remained.  
\--

The next morning, the group set out for the town villages. Everyone was more than happy to get out of the dingy hotel room. Snow and David seemed to enjoy the hustle and bustle the most; they walked around like excited tourists on their honeymoon, pointing and calling attention to every little thing. Henry was the same way, though he was asking questions about little things every few seconds. Regina thought it was fun seeing it all again, but she couldn't help but recall all the moments she had spent as the evil queen down at the villages. Tinkerbell, Hook, and Neal were somewhat the same way- they had all seen it before. Emma seemed interested in it all, but she didn't seem to show much appeal to everything around then. Neal and Hook were already trailing behind her like puppies in need of attention. Regina smirked when she saw how pathetic they looked, already wrestling for the woman's time of day.

Not too much time had passed before it was almost noon. Regina glanced down at her watch again, still unsure about the whole "date" thing Robin had invited her to. Even if things were awkward with him, she still would be able to see Roland again.

"You've been looking at your watch for five minutes, Regina," Emma stated sarcastically, "you better get over there so you can see sexy arrow man."

She looked up, a startled look on her face. Then she let her eyes fall down to her current outfit, sighing in the process.

"How should I look for thing?" She asked, her voice full of stress. "Casual... Fancy..."

Emma rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh my God Regina, you're going to his house, not meeting the president."

"Well I can't wear this! I've been wearing it for a week!" She gestured to her entire outfit.

Just then, Tinkerbell walked over and waved her wand over Regina's figure.

"You're hopeless," she sighed, properly looking her over as a light blue top and dark washed jeans replaced her previous attire.

"I'm still mad at you, but I can't just sit around and listen to you debate about what to wear. Fashion is my thing." Tinkerbell said, before spinning around on her heels and walking off.

"So that's why you're so nice to her," Emma marveled, "you know she'll cave in one of these days and help with your relationship problems."

Regina gave her a look.

"I have to say... you look good."

Smiling, Regina said one last thing before she took off. "You, uh... You don't have to show Henry my part of the castle when you go. I don't really want him seeing that... I don't ever want to see that place again."

Emma knew she meant what she said. "I'll try. Now you have fun," she encouraged, "but not too much fun."

Regina gave her a playful whack on the arm.

"Emma!"

She didn't want for a response before billowing up in purple smoke, leaving Emma wondering how the future would look for the most complicated person she knew.  
\--

She was right on time. Robin had gotten there a tad bit early, mostly because Roland was bursting with excitement to see her again. When he saw her, a huge smile spread across his face.

"Regina!" He yelled in his adorable four year old voice, jumping up into her arms as quickly as he could. He was soon followed by his father, who flashed her his trademark smile.

"Nice to see you again," Robin said warmly, "our house isn't too far from here. Hope you don't mind walking."

Regina shook her head. "I like walking."

It was a beautiful day in the Enchanted Forest. They walked across a wide, open field of plush green grass for about fifteen minutes, talking and occasionally laughing as they went- most of the conversation starters came from Roland. Regina couldn't help but think back to her old home here; she remembered how she always wanted to be outside.

Roland was starting to grow impatient when they finally arrived at their house. It was small, a little rustic burrow just about in the middle of nowhere.

"I know it's not much but... It's all we have." Robin said as they came to the front door.

"I like it," Regina concurred, "it seems really cozy."

The inside only proved her point. It was small, things were crowded together and toys scattered the floor. But she meant what she said about liking it- it made her happy to see such a secure place for Roland.

A man sat on one of the wooden chairs in the kitchen, a man Robin thankfully knew.

"Ah, Little Jon, I forgot about you coming over." Robin said quickly before turning to Regina. "I'll just be a moment, promise. Roland, why don't you show her around?"

The boy nodded with excitement. "You have to see my room! It's that one right there." He pointed towards one of the open doors. Regina carried him to it, carefully edging open the door and walking though. She set Roland down on his straw bed and looked around, finding this room very fit for a boy like him. Toys and sheets of paper scattered the ground; the shelves above his bed lined with little trinkets. Pushed to the corner was a wooden crib, looking like it had properly lived out its days.

"Look look look!" Roland held up an elephant stuffed animal with pride written all across his face, "this ones my favorite."

Regina smiled, absolutely loving all the attention he was giving her. Henry had a stuffed animal just like that one when he was younger. For the first time in a very long while, Regina was happy. But in the back of her mind, she was already subconsciously counting down the days it took for her to ruin everything like she always did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of their little get together to be posted soon ;)


	6. Just Regina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's super fluffy! Hope ya'll enjoy :)

Even though Roland had finished going through every item in his room, his father was still talking with the other man. Regina wondered what they were talking about. She stood up from his bed and walked towards the window, glancing at her wrist for the time. An hour and a half had passed since she arrived- it certainly didn't feel that way.

Then, something caught her eye outside the window. A small horse was grazing in the backyard, its coat a shiny black color. Regina let out an excited grin when she saw it.

"What is it?" Roland asked innocently, seeing her sudden burst of happiness.

"Do you want to know a secret?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and causing a surge of curiosity to radiate from the child.

"Yes!"

"Horses are my favorite animals,"

She could've sworn she heard Roland gasp with excitement. "Really?! We have horses!" He put his hands on the windowsill and hoisted himself up, crawling on it and pointing towards the black mare. "That's Nightshade. Daddy got her for me," he grinned from ear to ear, "daddy's horse is over there. He won't let me ride him."

Regina caught sight of the other horse on the far side of the yard; this one, unlike the other one, was big and sturdy, seeming like one used for military purposes.

"I named him Weston," came Robin's voice, causing her to spin around, "he's not the friendliest horse, but he's great with hauling loads to the village." He paused for a moment, suddenly unsure of his next words. "Do you... Want to ride them?"

Regina's eyes widened slightly. "Oh no, I was just-"

"I wanna ride!" Roland talked excitedly before she could finish her protest. "Please Regina?"

She was so weak to his pleads- which wasn't a good thing at all. "...sure. It's been a long time since I've ridden."

Once they got outside, Regina approached Nightshade cautiously, seeing his ears perk up when he heard her footsteps. The black horse came to her and allowed her to run her hands along the sides of his face. "You're lucky to have such a nice horse," she smiled, letting the horse lick over her fingers.

"You know a lot about horses Regina," Robin said, observing the glow that seemed to be around her as she interacted with the horse.

"I... I learned from an old friend."

Robin then called his own horse, stroking his neck affectionately before grabbing a saddle that lay nearby. Eventually they got both horses properly saddled and ready; Regina finishing Nightshade's in no time flat.

"Roland, you want to ride with me?" Robin asked his son.

Immediately, the boy shook his head, causing his hair to flop around as he did so. "I want to ride with Regina."

"Well okay then," Regina said, "but I have to warn you- I go fast."

Robin picked up Roland and watched Regina place her hands on the black horses back and take three light bounces before swinging her leg over his body- quite gracefully, he noted. He then walked over and carefully placed the boy behind her, giving him a stern look.

"Now you hold on tight and listen to Regina, okay?"

Roland nodded.

" You're sure you can handle him?" Robin asked Regina cautiously, placing his hand her leg without even realizing it. She felt a rush of something she couldn't quite understand when he touched her; she has no idea what it was, but it made her heart flutter, making her forget where she was.

"Yeah. It's fine- we'll be fine." She fumbled with her words, causing him to realize what he was doing. Robin quickly retracted his hand and threw her a small smile before going off towards his chestnut horse.

Regina felt Roland's skinny arms wrap around her middle securely. They both watched Robin mount Weston; the horse gave an irritated whiny in response. Regina gave Nightshade a firm kick in the flank, starting off in a slow canter, Robin following closely behind and eventually pulling in front of them, leading the way faster and faster into the trees that lay behind his small cottage house.

"Where do you want to go?" He had to yell over the thumping hoofbeats.

Regina shook her head, a bright smile on her face. "Let's just ride," she replied back, "we'll see where the horses take us."

And they did. Both horses got faster and faster on their feet and soon, the leaves on the trees turned into a green blur. The azure sky burned a radiant blue above them, air smelling telltale signs of heavy forest.

Regina felt like she was eighteen again. She became the girl who wore braids in her hair, the girl who didn't care about status, money, or power- all that mattered was the cool breeze, the thundering hoofbeats, and the pounding of her heart.

She presumed Roland had never been on a horse that went as fast as they were going before, for he was gripping her tightly, looking around in awe in the new perspective of the world around him.

They eventually broke through the realm of trees and into the fields, tearing through the short green grassland like birds racing through the sky. The sun was letting off intense heat, but Regina didn't care- the sweat on her face and the strain on her muscles was pure excitement for her- it was absolutely exhilarating.

She pushed the jet black horse harder, aching to pass Robin who was obviously trying to hold his position as the leader.

"Come on, just a little further..." She coaxed the tired horse, which seemed to reach him because not too long after she had said those words, Nightshade burst into a last minute sprint. Regina and Roland glided past Robin triumphantly, leaving the man with a surprised expression on his face.

They continued on their surge of energy until there was a large gap between the two horses, both of them nearing a slight hill in the field. Regina pushed Nightshade up the hill, finally clearing it and slowing down.

When they rose to the top, though, something made Regina's breath catch in her throat- a castle, with dark, uninviting spires lining the top filled her view, causing all the exhilaration to fade away like smoke into the air.

"Regina why'd we slow down?" She heard Roland whine behind her, though she didn't have the voice to give a reply.

There it was, her castle, the place she was ashamed to call home for many years, the hell that consumed her, the place that made her hate her utter existence...

"Regina!" She heard Robin call him, louder this time, making her snap her attention towards him. "Do you want to head back now?"

Regina realized there were tears in her eyes. She gave a weak smile, trying to get rid of the horrid vision of her castle and everything that came with it.

They turned their horses back around without another spoken word; Robin knew better than to press her when she was already clearly stressed out. Their exhausted horses both gave into a debilitated walk, a demeanor about them that was completely different from their arrival.  
\--

They put the horses back in their pen and reentered the house, all three of them feeling exhausted, not really saying much.

"Roland, you have to go take your nap now," Robin told the boy, who was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

"No!" he protested, though he was picked up anyways and carried off to his room in a screaming mess.

Regina was still by the door, examining her jeans that were now coated with dirt. She was incredibly sore; the last time she had ridden for fun seemed forever ago. There was a pang in her heart when she thought about her old horse, Ricontante, and how stupid she was for killing him- she missed that horse. Besides Daniel, Ricontante was the only one who listened to her.

Robin emerged from his son's room a few minutes later. "You sure tired him out," he said, "poor boy fell asleep as soon as I put him down."

Regina smiled. "My son Henry was horrible with naps when he was four- I'm afraid he gets most of his stubbornness from me."

"You have a son?" He asked, taken aback for a second.

"Well, adopted son," Regina said reassuringly, "I kind of share him with Emma- long story."

Robin laughed, looking somewhat released. "I'll have to meet him sometime," he glanced towards the battered couch that lay in the disarrayed living room, "you want to sit down?"

She nodded, and they both went over to the couch; Regina took the opportunity to glance around the room again, still fond of the small house.

Robin watched her, a slightly nervous expression on his face as he debated his next question.

"So," he approached his next words carefully, "what exactly happened on our ride today?"

She looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Why'd you get so worked up when you saw the castle?"

Regina knew that one was coming. She wasn't sure if she should lie or not.

"Was it because you used to live there?"

She certainly wasn't expecting that reply. Her eyes widened with shock.

"How- how did you know?"

Robin gave a roll of his eyes. "I'm not stupid, I know you used to be the queen in this part of the Enchanted Forest."

Regina simply stared at him, completely at blank. "You know what all I've done then." She muttered, shutting her eyes for a second, "then why; why would you invite me over, why would you let me ride your horses and why would you let me be near your son?!"

"Regina," he said softly, "look- I'll be honest, I had my suspicions when I saw you were the one holding my son when Neal and I first met you. But then... Then I saw the way you were looking at him." He paused for moment, his eyes filled with sadness. "Nobody has ever looked at him like that before, not since my wife... She only got to hold him once but... She had the same look in her eyes as you do every time you're with him."

Regina didn't know how to respond to that. Everything happened so fast... She wasn't sure if she should be mad, sad, or relieved.

"So you know who I am, but you're giving me a chance?"

Robin nodded slowly. "And... About today... I had fun with you."

She could feel tears begin to creep into her eyes. "I- Had fun to."

There were very few people that have ever given her a chance- there was Emma, who she was grateful for, despite their past, Snow, but that was... Complicated, and Henry, who seemed to be enjoying her company again. When people found out who she really was, they always ended whatever was between them without another word. This man in front of her knew she was the evil queen once, yet he didn't show any signs of distrust or uncertainty in his eyes.

Regina brushed away a tear that made its way down her face, looking up at him with a weak smile. "So you'll let me be with Roland?"

"Of course," he replied, "I wouldn't take you away from him. He's really fond of you... Taking you away from him would break him."

"And you... You'll give me a chance to be... Just Regina?"

Robin smiled. "As long as you do the same with me," he said, "I have my own baggage as well."

"I highly doubt they're worse than mine." Regina concurred, feeling happier than she had ever been before.

Just Regina. She hadn't been just Regina in a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robin's willing to give her a chance! Hopefully she doesn't blow it...


	7. The Photograph

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Henry and Regina bonding time chapter :) And I didn't forget about Rumple!

Leaves crunched beneath his irritated footsteps. Where could they be?

The man looked around the oddly silent forest, not really sure what to think about the scene in front of him. The Lost Boys camp was completely desolate, not a living soul was there. Kneeling down, Rumplestiltskin ran his finger across the green grass blades, picking up a fine black dust. Seeing this, he let out a frustrated growl, standing up and brushing away the dust.

So it was true, he thought, they killed him.

But it just wasn't possible. He knew for a fact even Regina and Emma's magic combined couldn't stop Pan. Then how did they manage to do it? Even more so, why did they leave him behind?

He opened his hand and let loose a blue colored spurge of magic, creating a portal in front of him with the image of the Enchanted Forest reflecting inside it. If Peter Pan was truly dead, then the magic keeping him here was completely obliterated.

After he thought about things, though, the image flickered and morphed into another destination- Storybrooke. He realized he could see Belle again and tell her that everything was alright. He was curious to see how she and everyone else were managing without them there.

And after he was done, he would return back to the Enchanted Forest where he would have a chat with the queen and finally get to the bottom of things.  
\--

"So what are we gonna do today?" Henry asked, his voice still groggy with sleep.

Their temporary living space was still fairly dark; small rays of light pierced through the small windowsill. Regina sat up and rubbed her eyes. Everyone in the crowded room was still half asleep.

"I dunno kid," Emma groaned, "I need more sleep."

"I told some old friends of mine that we'd meet up with them today," Snow said, already fully awake, "that's what we're doing today."

"I don't want to..." Emma replied in protest to her mother.

"It'll be fun, promise." David jumped into the conversation, "everyone wants to see the long lost Princess Emma."

Henry scrunched up his nose. "Mom," he said to Regina, "I don't really want to hang around a bunch of adults... Maybe we could do something today."

Regina wasn't sure she heard him right. Her son actually wanted to do something with her? That was a first.

"Like what?"

He shrugged. "Um... Any place you want I guess. You did live here right?"

"Where else would I have lived?" Regina replied, a small smile soon replacing her sarcasm. "I think I have somewhere in mind- if you're up for it, that is."

Henry grinned. "Of course I am!"

Regina loved her son, but she honestly had no idea why he was suddenly being so nice towards her. For months, he would barely give her a sideways glance. It was always about Emma. Emma's perfect, Emma's the hero, Emma's a better mother...

But no matter how much he had hurt her in the past, she would always love him. She loved Henry from the minute she held him in her arms for the first time. She seemed to do that with everyone close to her in the past- her father, Owen, even her mother. Regina Mills loved deeper than most.  
\--

Henry stood in an open field, a white blindfold covering his face.

"Can you give me a hint to where we are?" He asked impatiently.

Regina laughed, excited about how this would play out. "No, keep on walking."

She nudged him forward towards a large, dark colored house, one that looked old and completely run down. She kept her hands on his shoulders to steer him in the right direction.

"Are we closer?"

Regina responded by uniting the knot holding the blindfold. "Here we are..."

Henry looked around with excitement, only to see they were surrounded by an empty field and a haunted looking house. "What's so cool about this place?"

He turned around to face his mother, a look of confusion showing in his deep brown eyes.

"Because," she started, "this is my house. Well, my old house,"

Henry's eyes widened. "You actually lived here?!"

Regina examined the house, a thousand memories running through her head at once. She was starting to rethink the idea.

"Yeah, eighteen years in fact. You want to check it out?"

Henry nodded, taking her hand. "You think we could magic to get there? I don't really feel like walking all the way."

Rolling her eyes, Regina gave her son a look. "You're getting so lazy."  
But she didn't want to either, so she flicked her wrist, their vision filling with purple smoke.

"This place is huge!" Henry exclaimed once he saw the room they had appeared in; there were heavy red drapes covering the windows and extravagant decorations littering every available space.

"Isn't it?"

As she looked around at the place she once called home, Regina realized she didn't seem any older than she was when she actually lived there. But so many things happened since then.

"How come this house is still here?" He asked, beginning to wander around the ghastly room, "hasn't it been like fifty years since you lived here?"

Hearing this, Regina stopped in her tracks. "It hasn't been that long!" She said defensively, giving her son a cold look, "twenty at most."

"How old are y-"

"...Thirty four, now different topic!" She snapped, really wishing he would move on. Gratefully Henry did.

He soon spotted a massive picture above the cold fireplace, pulling in his attention instantly.

"Is that you? He asked, pointing a finger towards a small little girl in a purple dress, sitting stiffly with her arms folded in her lap.

Regina nodded.

"You don't look very happy."

"Well that's because I wasn't," Regina stated dryly, her eyes drifting towards the image of her mother.

Henry leaned forward to read the small text below.

"Cora?" He said the name, not sure if he were reading it right. Regina tensed when he said it, the name still had the ability to frighten her, even after all those years.

"That's your mom, the one who you didn't want me to meet when we were making the portal?" Henry said these words with such innocence it hit her chest like a ton of bricks. When she didn't give a reply, he turned around to face her.

"What did she do to you?"

Regina could only stare at the faded image of her, stone faced, cruel, red lips, hands aching to feel the rush of power again.

"Lots of things... Bad things. Things mothers should never do to their kids."

Henry hated to see her sad like that. He looked back at the caption again, now noticing the man that was sitting beside his mom. He, unlike the woman, didn't have the intimidating feel to him.

"Hey, that's my name!" Henry said with surprise leaning in for a closer look. "Who is he?"

Regina's pain seemed to be vanquished at the new subject chance. "That's my father, who else would he be?"

"You had a dad too?" His surprise continued, "I never knew that."

"Of course I did Henry, I wasn't created from thin air," Regina rolled her eyes, surprised herself that her own son knew very little about her past.

"So you named me after him?"

"We were really close when I lived here. He was pretty special to me." She replied, not really wanting to relive the moments of her ripping his heart out and killing him.

"Cool!" Her son replied, his face then turning wary. "Why... didn't he try and save you from her?"

Regina ran her fingers through his dark hair. "He was just as trapped as I was."

Soon, there was a silence between them as Henry began reviewing his mother's objectives in his head. Until he was taken off to Neverland, Henry was sure everything Regina did was to hurt Snow and Emma- now, his eyes were opened to a different picture, one with a lonely little girl in a purple dress who was completely unhappy. His throat tightened as he felt his mother gently caress his shoulders, giving everything to take away his sadness that nowhere near compared to hers. The woman with him in the large abandoned room gave everything she had for him- Henry Mills, son of the mayor of Storybrooke, now knew the truth about who his mother really was. He was all she had. Yet he treated her like she was the most awful person in the world.

"I'm so sorry mom..." The words slowly slipped out of his mouth, tears falling down his face.

Regina instantly pulled him close as he let out a sob, his arms tight around her. How could he have been so stupid? All those years, she was always right there for him. She went through fevers, scrapes, coughs, breakfast in the mornings, sleepless nights, bad dreams... all for him. Yes, Emma was his mom too, but Regina was someone he could never truly replace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henry finally said it! What do you guys think, is Henry too mean to Regina or does she deserve it all?


	8. Meeting Henry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henry finally gets to meet Robin and Roland!

A few hours later, both Henry and Regina were laying on the plush green grass. Regina had managed to turn his sadness into laughs as they finished the tour of the slowly fading house. They walked through everything from deserted bedrooms to the eerie stables- the one place she actually missed out of everything else in that house.

It was around noon, making the sun's positioned directly above them in the perfect blue sky. Regina found herself having fun with the twelve year old, something they hadn't shared together in quite a long time. She just hoped it would stay that way for a while.

"Apple?" Regina asked, using magic to pull one off the tree nearby. Henry looked at it hesitantly.

"Oh relax," she smirked, knowing him well enough to know he was thinking of the Fairytale that went with it. "It's just an apple. A special one, I might add, since it's from my tree."

There used to be rows of apple trees lining the sides of the house; then, one day, her mother got them all chopped down because it blocked the view- or, what's what she claimed. She and her father managed to spare two- one ended up in her castle and the other remained here, its roots firmly set into the ground.

Henry took the apple and took a big, juicy bite into it. "You know, I had to live like this when I was with them, the Lost Boys. Nothing but the woods, the sun, and... Them."

Regina heard the tentativeness in his voice, it made her sad inside. "Henry, what happened to you after they took you?"

Her son began fiddling with his fingers. "Well Peter tried to make me believe that you guys weren't coming for me," he said slowly, "but I wouldn't believe him."

This caused a smile of relief to come across her face. She could always count on Henry to believe in what's right.

"They tied me up and wouldn't let me leave... Or do anything. It was scary."

He gave her a small look of true childish fear before it was covered by a false courage. Noticing this, Regina couldn't help but miss the younger Henry, the one that possessed more childlike ignorance to all the scary things in the world. But, of course, he had her for a mother- things couldn't remain hidden forever.

"Well you never have to go back to that. I promise." She said softly in an attempt to comfort him.

"Mom..." He started, with his mouth full, "you seem different from when we were in Storybrooke. I haven't heard you said anything bad to Snow, or even Emma. Does being with Robin and that kid really make you happier?"  
Regina just stared at him, caught off guard for a moment. Was it really that obvious?

"Umm... Well, they're the only people besides everyone from home that seem to like me," she said, "for who I really am."

Henry knew that what she was saying was true. Still, he felt weird about her having a secret life over with them. Then, he had an idea.

"Can we go over there right now?" He asked suddenly, setting the eaten apple down on the grass.

Regina gave him a look. "Henry, we can't just go over there. It doesn't work like that."

"Why not? I want to meet them!"

"Because it's not our house, that's why." Regina argued, "they could be busy too."

"Come on, you know you want to," Henry folded his arms. He knew he wasn't that great at winning arguments with her, but this time he had a feeling he would end up on top. "Unless you want to go back to the room and be locked in with Snow White and Prince Charming."

The deal was sealed- he could see it in her eyes.

"I guess we could..." She sighed.

Henry smiled as she took his hand, both of them soon evaporating in purple smoke. They reappeared right in front of the small cottage, everything around it calm and tranquil.

"Now, be on your best behavior, okay?" Regina said, in an absolutely serious tone, "please don't mess things up. I have magic, I can put frogs in your bed."

Henry rolled his eyes. "Promise. Now can we go in?"

Slightly nervous, Regina went for the door, giving it three knocks when she got there. What if he was mad at her for showing up without notice? What if they were busy? It wasn't like she had special privileges nobody else had.

The door opened with a creak, revealing Roland looking up at her with a smile. "Hi Regina!" He said in his usual perky tone of voice, soon noticing Henry standing beside her, "who's that?"

Henry examined the little boy. Sure, he was cute. But he was awful small.

Just then, Robin came to the door to see what his son was excited about. He was pleased to see it was Regina; he should've known.

"Nice to see you again," he said with a smile, "is this... Your son?"

"I'm Henry," he said politely, not really sure what to do. The man seemed nice; he was tall and was obviously pretty fit. It excited him that he was in the presence of Robin Hood- this was the first time he was meeting an actual Fairytale character that didn't live in Storybrooke... Besides Peter Pan. But he tired to kill him, so Henry figured he didn't really count.

"Nice to meet you lad, I'm Robin and this is Roland." He gestured to the boy in front of him, "come in, I was just getting lunch ready."

The four of them took a seat on the old and dusty couch. Henry immediately started with his questions.

"So you're the leader of the merry men, right?"

"That's right," Robin replied, "how did you know that?"

Henry smiled. "Back at home I have this storybook that has all the Fairytale characters in it."

"So you've been reading up on me," he mused, "what else do you know?"

Regina mentally scolded herself- she should've seen this coming. Henry couldn't keep his mouth shut about his book.

"Well, you steal from the rich and give to the poor. You and the rest of the merry men travel around and help villagers. You had a wife once but she died... Didn't know you had a kid though."

Regina wished she could be anywhere else but in his house. It was such a mistake bringing him here.

Robin was truly surprised. "Yeah... That's about it."

"Where do you live?" Roland asked, thankfully changing the subject.

"A place called Storybrooke." Regina practically jumped at the chance, "it's in another realm. Actually, it's a realm where magic doesn't exist and people live normal lives- we have magic in our town though. All the other Fairytale characters that used to live here live there."

"So that's where everyone vanished to, huh." Robin said, "and if it weren't for the unknown force field that came up, would we be there too?"

She nodded. "Eventually we'll go back. Henry's actually from the rest of the world without magic. This is his first time to the Enchanted Forest."

Roland frowned. "You can't go!" He said, throwing his arms around her neck. "I'd miss you!"

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere for a while, promise." Regina reassured, returning his embrace.

Henry eyed the boy skeptically, watching him hug his mother. He knew her long before he did, yet Roland acted like she was his mom too.

"Um, Robin, I think something's boiling over in the kitchen." Regina said, turning her attention to the smoke rising behind them.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, immediately getting up and running over to the kitchen. Regina set Roland down and followed him, her cooking instincts taking over.

"What're you making?" She honestly couldn't tell. But whatever it was, it was giving off an awful smell.

"Umm... Well it's supposed to be mashed potatoes..."

That was the last thing she would ever think of. "You're doing it all wrong!" With a wave of her hand, the boiling pot vanished.

"How about we try something easier, like chicken soup? Everyone can make soup, promise."

Robin shrugged. "I don't know. I'm a pretty bad cook,"

"Don't worry," Regina smiled, "I'll help." She opened up some of the drawers and fished out a few knives, using magic to make a piece of chicken appear on the countertop. "We can cheat and use magic on some of this..." She said, snapping her fingers and causing the chicken to turn fully cooked. "It's such a shame you guys don't have ovens."

Handing him a knife, she gestured towards the meat. "Cut this up into small pieces while I get the other stuff ready," she instructed, setting off to find a pot big enough. Once she found one, she set it on the burner equivalent to a stove and lit a fire beneath it. She couldn't find any noodles, so she used magic to make them appear in the pot.

"You're doing good," Regina said, watching Robin slowly cut off the pieces, obviously trying hard not to mess up. He finished and set the knife down, smiling over towards her.

"I guess it's not that hard."

"See, told you," she said, gathering up the pieces in her hands to take over to the burner. Robin took the ones left over and followed her there, watching her slowly set them in the pot. When she was finished, he did the same.

"Slowly!" She said quickly, seeing him about to dump all of them in at once. But it was too late, they all fell in and splashed both of them with the steaming water, causing Regina to let out a squeal.

"I'm so sorry!" He told her, though he couldn't help himself from laughing.

"It's fine," she replied back, finding it hard to keep a smile off her face when she saw him burst into laughter. She grabbed a washcloth and wiped her shirt that was now covered with water droplets, doing the same to Robin when she was finished. Regina then realized how close she was to him as she pressed down on his chest where a particularly large spot was, feeling his hard muscles beneath the fabric of his shirt. She stepped back and tried to keep her frazzled expression off her face.

"You know, it'd be a whole lot easier to just use magic." She said; with a snap of her fingers, they were both completely dry.

"Boys, lunch is ready!" Regina called them, fetching some bowls and forks. The both of them came scampering into the kitchen, sitting down at the table and waiting patiently for Regina to dish them up. Robin picked up the pot and brought it over to the table, pulling out a chair for Regina before sitting down himself.

Thanks to Regina, they were finally having a nice meal together. It felt comforting to Robin as he peered around the table, seeing his son lit up and bright as he blew on his fork before sticking it in his mouth, seeing Henry swing his legs under his chair. And then there was Regina- he watched her laugh as her son told her something funny, twirling her fork around in the bowl without another care in the world. The atmosphere was something his house hadn't experienced in a long time- four years, in fact. In that moment, he felt like he had a family again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to leave it on a nice fluffy note. There will be angst and drama coming in soon though, don't think it's just a smooth sailing romance story! Remember, Rumple said he was going to have a chat with the queen... ;)


	9. Back to the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a fun one!

Everyone was completely sick of the room. It was a dismal place; the air was always humid and there were always at least five people in it at once, if not all of them. The nights were near sleepless and there always seemed to be some sort of contention going on. It was nice to get back to the people she was familiar with, but it was always such a change from Robin's house; with Roland's little voice echoing through the walls and Robin's stories of traveling the streets, going on adventures, just to help people less fortunate then he was... Well, it was certainly a different environment. She still didn't know what it was about his house that made her feel so unlike herself.

She and Henry were sitting side by side on the side of their bed, listening to Emma and Neal argue with each other over what exactly happened the night Roland arrived in Neverland. It was getting quite heated, but Regina and everyone else seemed to be secretly enjoying themselves- Hook, especially. Regina was just waiting for Snow and Charming to arrive so they could see to mess for themselves.

"I was coming for you! For Henry!" Neal was almost yelled at her, clenching his fists together angrily.

"But you didn't come, you let a little boy suffer instead!" Emma retaliated, stepping closer to him. She knew she shouldn't get this mad in front of her son, but she really couldn't help it.

"I thought the plan would work!"

"You can't just put a kid's life in danger Neal; he could've died in Neverland!"

Neal had feelings for the woman, but sometimes she could be the most stubborn person in the universe. "But he didn't, Emma." He tried calming his voice down a tad bit, "everything's fine now."

"Ugh, you just don't get it!"

Before Neal could reply, the door opened, revealing a confused Prince Charming and Snow White.

"Guys, why are we yelling?" Snow asked, stepping between her daughter and her ex boyfriend.

"Neal just now told me that he's the reason Roland got sent to Neverland!"

"That doesn't mean we need to yell about it," David said softly, putting a hand on Emma's shoulder.

"Aw, you had to stop them?" Regina said, "Hook and I were enjoying it."

"You're not helping." Snow said, giving her a cold look that only seemed to fuel her enthusiasm.

"I have an idea," David interjected, "why don't we all go on a nice walk outside- it's a beautiful evening, we shouldn't be stuck here fighting."

Regina tried very hard not to roll her eyes. David was always so painfully cheerful.

Everyone exchanged monotone shrugs and slowly got up, heading towards the door, though instead, Tinkerbell came to sit by Regina.

"You know what you should do instead tonight?"

"Anything but take a walk," she answered detestfully, "that's about the lamest thing I've ever heard."

Tinkerbell let out a small laugh. "You should have an evening alone with Robin."

Hearing his name, Regina perked up. "Not that I'm not enjoying this but... Why are you being so nice to me? Last time I checked you hated me," she asked slowly, truly curious. The fairy looked different from when she saw her in Neverland, more healthy, perhaps.

"Well I'm not saying I forgive you for what you did," Tinkerbell replied, "but I started this whole thing with you a long time ago. It's only fitting I carry it out until the end." She leaned in a bit, hushing her voice, "I've also been feeling a little bit stronger since we arrived here."

Regina was so relieved the fairy was happy again. She felt bad for what she did to her before; maybe things were starting to work out for her after all.

"So let's go over there, you and I, and I'll take Roland back with me and babysit him for a little while."

"But what will we do?" Regina asked, seeing the playful light dance about her green eyes.

"That's up to you," she said, taking her hand. "I'll take us there. You just hold on."

They vanished from the room within seconds, leaving no trace of them there.

When they appeared, they were once again standing in front of the house that was growing ever so familiar.

"You should know, Roland probably goes to bed soon." Regina told the fairy, who simply laughed in response.

"Don't worry Regina, I've handled many kids before, this one won't be any different."

They reached the door and Tinkerbell knocked; the sky above them was a brilliant array of colors as the sun sank beneath it.

Robin answered the door, knowing it was probably Regina. Nobody else really visited him or Roland besides his merry men.

"Did you come to insult my dinner making skills?" He asked playfully, allowing them both in, "because I can assure you Roland loved the turkey I made us."

"No," Regina said with a laugh, "Tinkerbell here had the idea that we should do something tonight. She can stay here and watch Roland."

"You'd sacrifice a Friday night to watch a four year old sleep?" Robin asked, "well, that's very kind of you."

He then turned to Regina. "I have the perfect place in mind. If you're up for some fun that is,"

"So that's a yes, just like that?" She couldn't believe it was really that easy.

"Of course it's a yes," Robin smiled, "just let me say goodbye to Roland, then we can head out."

Regina nodded, and watched him walk into the little boy's bedroom.

"See, he really likes you." Tinkerbell whispered towards her, "I know it, I can see it in his eyes."

She tried to keep from blushing as she soaked in her words. "Thank you, Tinkerbell. Really means a lot."

She smiled back in reply as Robin returned, grabbing a jacket from a hanger and giving his attention to the fairy.

"I already put him to bed, so unless he wants a glass or water or something he should be okay." He instructed her, the care for his boy really showing through his voice.

"Got it. Now you two have fun, but don't stay out too late."

Robin opened the door and gestured for Regina to pass through. "We'll try not to," he told Tinkerbell before closing the door behind him.

Once they were alone outside, Regina looked up towards Robin. "So where are we going to go?"

He only smiled in return. "Not telling. You'll figure it out once we get there." He gave her a wink and started off towards the field again, giving Regina no choice but to follow him.  
\--

It had taken them nearly fifteen minutes to make it all the way to the villages. The air had gotten colder as the sun disappeared; Regina conjured up a jacket as they continued on their journey with a secret destination. As they walked alone the cobblestone streets, they encountered many things- a pair of street performers, steaming hot chocolate for sale, shops lining either side, dotted with candles... It was quite lively. Regina had never seen the villages like this; to her, they were always bitter and sad.

As they rounded a corner, Regina suddenly realized she had been there before. The moment she had spent there was brief, yet something she could never forget. It was the time she destroyed her first chance with him.

Her suspicions were affirmed when they were standing in front of large windows letting out a golden light, the inside of the warehouse filled with merry laughs and hearty conversations.

It was just like she remembered it to be.

In her mental absence, Robin had opened the door, letting in a friendly, warm air. He walked through and held it open for her, giving her look.

"Aren't you coming?"

His words snapped her back to reality. Once again, Regina was standing in the middle, caught between the cold darkness that touched her back and the happy golden world that filled her vision with its light. And once again, her soulmate was so close yet so far away. But he didn't have the green fairy dust around him this time; no, this time he came here for her.

She took a deep breath, and walked through the door.

They sat side by side on wooden stools at the counter of the pub, surrounded on both sides by other people that seemed drunk off their asses. It was crowded; usually, Regina didn't enjoy crowds, but this time she didn't mind. Once the bartender came around to them, Robin ordered them both beers. About a minute later, he came back with two mugs filled over the brim with foam.

He immediately brought the mug up to his lips and gulped it down, setting it down with a bang against the table and wiping the foam off his mouth. Regina simply stared down at the liquid curiously, not really knowing what it was.

"You've never had a beer before?" Robin asked inquisitively, seeing her blank expression.

She shook her head no. "I've had wine before... Does this stuff taste good?"

Robin laughed. "It tastes more than good- here, try it and see for yourself."

She picked up the mug and took a small sip, letting the taste settle in her mouth and swallowing it hard. The face she made was amusing, it was like she just drank a swig of lemon juice. But as the aftertaste settled in, Regina found herself wanting more.

"Well... How is it?"

"I like it," she smiled, taking a longer sip this time. She could already feeling herself slip away from reality.

Before too long had passed, Regina was completely drunk. The pub was Robin's favorite place to be when he needed some relaxation; it took a lot to actually make him forget what he was doing. But he loved seeing her like this- she laughed at just about everything he said.

The bartender came back around and placed another mug in front of her, which she grabbed instantly and gulped down.

"You know one time, the merry men and I stormed Malifecent's castle," he told her, "it was quite fun. She has a huge castle."

"Malifecent and I hated each other..." Regina drew out the word hate, pausing to giggle more. Her stomach started to ache because of her intense laughter.

Robin watched her bounce slightly as she laughed, trying hard not to stare at her shirt's ever lowering neckline as he did so. It was extremely hard, she was absolutely beautiful. He loved hearing her laugh; it was completely carefree, even if she were drunk.

"And... And my castle was way bigger than hers... She was jealous of me." Her voice was muffled by her mug.

When she set it down again, it was empty. "You drank it that fast?" Robin asked with surprise, still only on his third one himself. He was impressed- even his merry men couldn't hold down that much liquor that fast.

He figured he had just learned a lesson here; never underestimate a queen who was trying a beer for the first time.

"You want another?" The bartender asked, already preparing the next one for her.

"You know what, I think we should stop here." Robin interjected, before it was too late.

Regina gave him a pouty look with her eyes. "I want another one!" She protested.

"I know, but you need to stop." He said as nicely as he could, finishing off his and setting it to the side. "See, I'll stop too."

Regina could still feel her body tingle with the alcohol. She couldn't remember the last time she got this drunk. She looked around the pub and let out another laugh as another unfiltered thought came to her head.

"I was supposed to meet you here a long, long time ago..." She slurred, "but I didn't! Because I was too scared about what you would think of me! I... I was so stupid."

This comment was brought Robin's attention. He wasn't sure if she was just saying things or not.

"Regina, we haven't met before. What are you talking about?"

She looked at him with her glowing brown eyes. "Tink... Tinker... Bell and I met and she did this thing with her magic that led me right to you. But I didn't go to you because I was scared."

She's certainly got interesting when she's drunk, Robin thought to himself. That was the most bogus thing he had ever heard.

"Okay Regina, let's get you home..." He stood up and placed some money on the counter, helping her stand up on her feet. She was extremely unsteady, practically falling on him as she stood. He dragged her out of the pub and back into the freezing outside world.

Once they got outside, Robin felt all her weight press up against his body as she completely passed out. He caught her firmly in his arms and managed to pick her up bridal style, holding her closely to him to feel her warmth as he started off on the dark journey back home.  
\--

Every part of him felt strained by the time he reached his front door. He used his foot to bang on it a couple times; the chill in the air was quite cold, even with his jacket on. One thing was constant, though- the steady beat of her heart through the fifteen minutes of trudging back home. Robin looked down at her sleeping face, still amazed she had consumed that much alcohol. He noted one thing for the future- never get Regina drunk.

Tinkerbell finally opened the door, looking with concern at the passed out Regina in his arms. "It's almost midnight, what did you two do?"

Robin gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm really sorry... We went to the pub and I bought her a few drinks..."

"Well it's really late, we should get back before everyone else starts freaking out- set her on the couch, I'm not carrying her."

Robin obeyed, wanting nothing more than to get in his bed and sleep. "How was Roland?"

"Slept the whole time," she replied with a smile, "he's a good boy."

Robin was glad to hear that. "You tell Emma and the rest of them that this is all my fault," he said, watching her walk over to where Regina lay. "And tell Regina that I can't wait for her to come back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to write this- there's no way they can fall in love without getting drunk together first lol... now we know why Regina doesn't do rum.


	10. A Stumble in the Path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We kinda switch gears here in this one... Rumple's coming back to the Enchanted Forest!

Her whole world was black and white as she awoke- her stomach ached, her head was basically a pound of lead... It was like someone ran over her with a truck multiple times.

It took a while for her to actually open her eyes, and when she did, she saw a ceiling laced with straw and covered with mildew. Regina could hear voices around her; they boomed and echoed through her head in a nonstop motion. She let out a groan as she forced herself to sit up on the bed, not even wanting to think about what had happened the night before. At least she knew she was back with the others.

"What did you do last night, you look absolutely terrible," she heard Emma say to her.

Regina managed to muster up another famously sarcastic smile. "Have you ever had beer before?"

"Everyone has," Emma replied, as if it were obvious.

"Well it... Was a mistake." She muttered, suddenly standing up to bolt to the bathroom. Before she could make it, though, David stood up to stop her.

"No no, not in here you aren't!" He said, spinning her around towards the window. She bent herself over so she was halfway outside the window, the air soon filled with the sound of the queen retching. Everyone in the room made faces as they stood and listened to her puke.

After a few seconds, Regina pulled herself up and wiped over her mouth.

"The first time is the worst, promise," Emma said as she suppressed an amused grin.

"Can't you just use magic to make yourself feel better?" Snow asked, trying to be supportive.

Regina gave her a cold look. "No, it doesn't work that way." She muttered, then turning to Tinkerbell. "Can you conjure me up some pills or something?"

The blonde gave her a look. "How do we ask for things nicely?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Can you please give me some pills so I can not die today?"

"Okay, fine. Try these," she said, handing her three small pills and a glass of water.

"Oh come on love, if you're going to be a drinker you have to be able to handle the mornings," Hook told her, watching her swallow.

"I don't think I'm drinking that stuff ever again." Regina said bitterly, beginning to pace the room. "What did I do last night, I don't remember a thing!"

Tinkerbell laughed. "I have no idea. When you two came back you looked practically dead. He carried you all the way back from the pub."

Her eyes widened. "He carried me home? Oh God..."

"You'll have to ask him the rest of it," Tinkerbell said, "hopefully you didn't say anything too stupid."

This was not good. She knew it was a mistake to try that stuff.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Regina finally sighed, "I'll see what he has to say... If he even wants to see me again."

Though she was still weak, she was able to disappear in purple smoke. She need answers.  
\--

"Are you sure I didn't say anything insanely stupid last night?"

Robin laughed at her. "You didn't, I promise." He replied, thinking in the back of his mind how she could hardly breathe because of her laughter. He wouldn't tell her about it, no, it would be his little secret on her. And because it was a secret, he didn't have to tell anyone else how badly he wanted to hear her laughter again.

"We just talked about stuff." He said with recurrence, making her slightly less frazzled.

"How come you didn't wake me up?" Roland pouted, looking up at her with sad round eyes. Regina hugged him tighter in her lap.

"I would have, but you were fast asleep when I got there." She said to him, turning back to Robin, who was giving her a concerned look.

"Are you feeling okay? You look kind of pale," he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm just a tad under the weather, that's all."

"Us merry men have gotten pretty used to hangovers," Robin said, "they don't bother me anymore."

"I won't want you to be sick!" Roland exclaimed, "then you can't cook yummy food for us anymore!"

"Oh thanks son, love you too." Robin gave the little boy a look as Regina laughed and gave him a small tap on the nose.

"I'm fine, I promise."

He believed her, but there were one thing that still stuck in his mind- what she had said about her supposedly almost meeting at the pub before.

"...There was something you did say though," he said cautiously, watching her face fall instantly to worry, "you said something about Tinkerbell leading you to me with magic. Is this... True?"

Regina thought her heart stopped beating. She stared at him with her mouth slightly open,

completely frozen. She told him that?!

I'm never drinking again.

"Umm... Yeah... I did. It was a long time ago, when I was alone and... She found me, and told me that I needed love to be happy. She lead me to that pub, pointed to you, and told me to go to you because you would make me happy." Tears began forming in her eyes as she continued; Roland stared up at her curiously, for he didn't know what was going on.

"I couldn't do it though... I couldn't trust myself to actually be happy again. Darkness was all I had... I was stupid enough to go back to it because I thought that was what I would always have."

Robin thought it was all too far fetched to be true. But somehow he believed her, and it made him sad, but it also made a part of him excited. The fairy was telling her that he would make her happy. It was a little too much to handle all at once.

"Are... Are you mad at me?"

He looked into her dark brown eyes, seeing nothing but desperation.

"No, not at all," Robin said kindly, "I would've been scared to tell me too."

A flood of relief came over her. The man in front of her was beginning to resemble pure perfection- she told him one of her biggest secrets, and he didn't seem freaked out to the slightest bit. It was either that or he was a very good actor; in both cases, though, Regina was glad.

Just then, a shadow brushed over them through the window as someone walked past, averting her attention from Roland and Robin. She saw a man wearing a dark cloak walking in the fields; and for one brief moment, she saw his face- Rumplestiltskin.

Her eyes remained frozen on him, paralyzed, a million thoughts running through her head at once as she wondered why he was there.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She most certainly wasn't.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she said, realizing her breathing was extremely shallow. "Just... Let me get some air. I'll be right back."

Regina then sat Roland down in his father's lap and headed for the door, feeling on the verge of passing out again. She was already dreading talking to the man- he absolutely infuriated her.

The air outside was nice and cool, a pleasant spring morning. The colors were very dignified; bright green grass against a baby blue sky. It seemed to mock her as she marched across the field towards him, wanting nothing more than for him to leave and to quit disturbing the peace.

"Hello, dearie," there it was, his usual annoyingly accented tone. "Fancy seeing you here."

Regina folded her arms across her chest crossly. "You knew I'd be here. Why?"

Rumple simply flashed her a grin. "Surprised to see me not stuck in Neverland?"

"I knew you'd eventually get out," she said, "you can't be mad at me about that- we saw our chance and we took it. I killed Pan, you should be thanking me."

"And how'd you manage to do that?"

Her gaze hardened. "Wouldn't you like to know,"

Rumple turned his attention back to the window, where Robin and Roland could be faintly seen in conversation with each other.

"Now who are they?" He asked in a taunting tone, already triggering a sensitive spot in the former queen. "Did you already give up on the son you already have?"

"Shut up," Regina said defensively. "I've done nothing of the sort."

"Then... Who are they?"

"Friends. It's really none of your business, is it Rumple." She grew more tense as his imaginary hold on her tightened. She hated how he always did this to her- made her feel like she was worthless. She wished with all her heart he would just go away and leave her alone; he was always looming over her like a heavy cloud.

"I just think it's amusing how you think you can fool these people into thinking you're capable of change."

There it was.

"Oh, I see what you're doing," Regina lowered her voice, sending him a dark smile as she did so, "you're jealous because I'm happy and you're not."

Rumple let out a small laugh, seeing the defiance showing in her eyes. "You'll break soon enough. They'll see who you really are."

She pointed a threatening finger towards him, her anger edging to burst from inside of her. "You don't control me, Rumplestiltskin. I can be happy if I want, and nobody's going to get in my way."

He turned his head slightly to the side, clicking his tongue. "I don't think I like that tone of yours, dearie." With a wave of his hand, a force hit the woman so hard it knocked the air right from her lungs. Her hands flew to her throat as she struggled to breathe, in a moment where her instincts took over and she forgot what she was capable of.

Regina then knocked the man down so he was laying on his back on the grass, gasping for breath as she seethed with fury.

"I can be happy if I damn well please!" She yelled towards him, raising her hand to create a ball of fire that danced in her palm, "I am so sick of you ruining my life! You're a bastard, you don't deserve to-"

"Regina!" Came a voice, one that struck her with fear immediately. Robin came running out of his house with a wild confusion in his expression, exchanging glances between the man on the ground and the woman holding a bright yellow fireball.

"What are you doing?!"

Before she could open her mouth, she noticed the small figure trailing behind Robin, mostly hidden by his legs- Roland. She quickly extinguished the fireball, feeling extremely faint.

"He- he attacked me..."

"Out of nowhere? Attacked you?" He demanded, his voice sounding uncharacteristically cold and uninviting.

"Well- sort of-" she quickly gestured to the man beneath her. "Do you know who he is?"

"...a man?"

"The dark one, Rumplestiltskin!" Regina said with frustration, "we have a past together, he's not a good person at all-"

"So you threaten to kill him." Robin cut her off, staring down at the man who looked nervously up at him.

"Oh don't tell me you're actually buying this crap," she scoffed, "he's the most powerful man in this realm, I swear!"

"Regina...?" Came a small voice with no owner, though Regina automatically knew who it belonged to. Roland peeked his head out from behind his father and locked eyes with her, her heart feeling like it was slowly being crushed when she saw his tearstained face.

"I'm scared."

Robin quickly caught his son by the arms and lifted him in his own. "Regina I think you need to go home now."

He didn't even look at her as he spoke.

"Look- this isn't my fault!"

"Just... Go home."

He cradled his son's head as he softly cried softly into his shoulder, slowly turning to walk away from the scene.

"No, wait!" Regina almost cried, her eyes never leaving them as they walked towards the small cottage house.

She watched them leave her there alone- just like Owen; just like Henry.

"I told you, dearie... You can't hide from the truth forever."

His words were but muffled echoes through her head. Regina didn't look at him, instead she focused her eyes on the rolling green fields, suddenly feeling so lost in such a perfect world.

Then she vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.


	11. Everything She Could Ever Ask For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LAST CHAPTER. But I'm happy to let y'all know it gets better :)

She didn't even care where she was headed- it didn't really matter. As Regina filed through places to go, she realized that almost every single destination in the Enchanted Forest would just make her angrier. She could go out in the middle of nowhere and scream, but she figured that wouldn't help with anything. Frustrated and defeated, Regina opted into going back to the rather dismal temporary living space.

She appeared in the middle of the room, where everyone happened to be talking and laughing, engaged in multiple conversations. Everyone silenced when they saw her, suddenly redirecting their conversations towards her.

"You're back this soon?"

"Did you find out what you said?"

"Did you have fun?"

Regina simply waved her hand to freeze them in their places, falling into her bed and covering her face with her pillow. She screamed into it for a few seconds; before long she couldn't hold the tears back anymore. Defeated, Regina lay hopelessly on the bed, honestly not knowing what to do.

Then she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Startled, she looked up to catch the eyes of Emma Swan, who was completely taken aback by Regina's state. Never before had she seen such a broken woman. Regina always hid her emotions, no matter what the circumstance. Her face was smudged with the remnants of wet tears, her makeup long since faded.

"How'd you-?"

"I can do magic too, remember?" Emma said, taking a seat on the bed. "But that doesn't matter. You want to tell me what happened?"

Regina scowled. "Go away."

"No, you're gonna tell me what happened," Emma persisted, working on her patience as best she could. "Does it have to do with... Him?"

"I said go away!" Regina said, louder this time. She didn't want to talk to Emma- it wasn't like things were ever going to get better.

"What's going on?" Came Tinkerbell's voice, walking over him to observe the scene.

"Something happened with Robin, that's what," Emma muttered to her, watching the queen practically sobbed into her pillow, her body curled up on top of the sheets.

Tinkerbell frowned. "That's not good..."

Emma couldn't agree more. "Look Regina, this past two weeks you've been on the best behavior you've ever had," she said in a demanding voice, "you can't go back to being pissed off all the time- it affects all of us!"

She knew Regina wouldn't respond, so she continued. "You're the strongest person I know, there's no way you lay here and cry like this!"

Though it had only been a few minutes, Emma couldn't bare to see her in this state. She tried being supportive, but enough was enough- this needed to be fixed.

"Tell me what happened," she said, attempting to pull her upwards so she was sitting up beside her.

"He- he came back..." Regina muttered, wiping her eyes, "Rumple. He tricked me into looking bad in front of them and..." She threatened to burst into tears again. "I messed up. But I didn't do anything!"

"Wait, Rumple's back?" Emma asked with surprise, turning to Tinkerbell. "If he really did mess with her we need to talk to Robin."

"You can't talk to him!" Regina yelled to her, "you'd just make things worse!"

"Nothing can as painful as listening to you cry!" Emma yelled right back turning to Tinkerbell. "You remember where his place is?"

The other woman nodded in response.

"Good. Because we're going there right now." She stood up and tuned out Regina's protests. "I'm so done with this."

Tinkerbell quickly flashed them out of the room before Regina could use magic to stop them- they appeared in the empty fields a few seconds later.

Emma immediately began marching towards the front door. "Wait, aren't wegoing to make a plan first?" Tinkerbell asked rapidly, trailing behind her.

"There is no plan. We just have to tell Robin that Regina had nothing to do with what happened."

She pounded on the door a few times with her fists.

"And you believe her?"

"Why the hell would she trash her relationship with this guy on purpose?" Emma said in response, "I know Regina- she only gets that pissed off when she thinks someone's gonna hurt her kid... Which is Roland in this case."

They both waited about twenty long seconds before the door finally swung open.

"Can I help you?" Robin asked, though he already knew why they must be standing in his doorway.

"Yeah. We gotta talk to you about what happened with Regina earlier," Emma said irritably, stepping into the house without his consent. Tinkerbell gave him a slightly apologetic look.

"Right now, Regina's sobbing in her bed like some sorry asshole," Emma said, placing her hands on her hips, "and that's totally not okay with the rest of us. You do realize this is all your fault, right?"

Robin sighed. "She's the one who decided to attack some guy! Right in front of my kid too, what was I supposed to do?"

"And you didn't believe her when she said the man was Rumplestiltskin, probably the most psychotic man in this realm?!"

"Well he didn't seem so 'psychotic' when I encountered him in the past!"

"How can you-"

"I think what Emma means to say is that he tricked her into making herself look bad in front of you so you'd be angry with her," Tinkerbell added herself into the conversation quickly, trying to lower the tension that was already beginning to build up.

"Why would he do that?"

"They have an... interesting relationship." Emma told him. Interesting didn't even begin to explain it.

"Rumple is sensitive about his power," she clarified, "he always wants to feel like he's above everyone else- including Regina. I think he saw her getting stronger, and made sure to knock her down so he could continue feeling that way."

Robin paused as he heard what she was saying. "She's getting stronger? How?"

"By being with you, of course," Tinkerbell told him, "you and Roland are the reason she's been so happy lately."

He was supposed to be cross with her, but Robin couldn't help but feel a surge of pride through him. He didn't realize how true that statement was.

"I... I guess I should've believed her when she told me," he finally admitted, causing both Tinkerbell and Emma to let out a sigh of relief.

"So, if we brought Regina back here... You'd give her another chance?" Emma asked, with a small smile on her face.

"Yeah," he said, his face falling slightly. "She's really that upset over what happened?"

"Oh course she is. She's under the impression that you and Roland never want to see her again." Tinkerbell told him, "Regina might seem like nothing bothers her but... She's really weak inside. All the hope and belief that she can change got shaken... How is she supposed to act?"

Hearing this, Robin began to fully regret what he had done- he wanted to apologize to her and tell her everything would be okay.

"Well, bring her over as soon as possible."

Emma and Tinkerbell were happy they succeeded. "Could I talk to Roland really fast about it?" Emma asked Robin, then turning to Tinkerbell. "You go get Regina- drag her here if you have to."

She nodded, and left the house in a burst of green pixie dust.

"Sure, you can try..." Robin told her, "he's pretty sad though. He's in his room."

"Thanks," Emma smiled, starting down the hallway towards the halfway open door at the end of it. She was getting better at persuading Henry out of being mad, she figured she could do the same with the four year old.

Giving the door a tap with her fingers, Emma walked in the room to see Roland sitting on his bed with his back to her, his back slumped sadly with his head facing down. He turned around when he heard her come in, his brown eyes watery despite how hard he tried to cover it.

"Go away," he told her, turning back around to give her the cold shoulder.

Emma let a small laugh. "You know, that's exactly what Regina said to me earlier this morning."

He frowned when he heard her name being said.

Emma sat down next to him and put her hand on his back. "So, that's it? You're gonna be mad at her forever?"

He didn't respond.

"You do mean that means she wouldn't come over anymore, wouldn't play with you... Do you really want that?"

He most certainly didn't. Deep inside, he already really missed Regina. But he couldn't get the image out of his head; the image of her aiming a fireball at the man, her eyes completely absent of the love he was used to seeing.

"No..."

Emma really felt bad for the boy. While practically the whole town of Storybrooke had seen the bad side of Regina Mills, he hadn't before.

"She wants you to know that she's sorry," she said nicely, "and that she had a reason for what she did. That man could have hurt you, and she did what she had to do."  
Roland heard her say something about him being a bad guy; however, it never crossed his mind that she could have been protecting him.

"Regina's pretty sad about it... How about we all quit being sad and make up? Then you can be happy again."

He didn't want Regina to be sad- he was pretty tired of moping around himself. So he simply shrugged his shoulders for a yes, I would want to be friends with Regina again.

"So if she comes and talks to you soon, are you gonna for forgive her?"

He looked up at her and nodded. Emma patted him on the back and stood up. "Awesome! See, everything will get better." She threw him a comforting smile before exiting the room, hoping Tinkerbell was having luck getting the queen out of her bed.

"Come on Regina, just apologize to him!" Tinkerbell hissed towards her, practically dragging her across the field towards the house.

"You can't make me!" Regina shouted back, pulling hard against her strong grip on her arm.

"You're acting like a child right now!"

"Well you're forcing me against my will!"

"Look, he wants to apologize to you, so get in there and listen to what he has to say!" Tinkerbell stopped dragging her and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Trust me."

Regina's scowl finally melted after a few long seconds. "Are you sure he said that?"

Tinkerbell sighed. "You seriously need to start believing in me more often. Who lead you to him in the first place?"

Regina couldn't argue with that one. Still, she was nervous about seeing him again. He kept on giving her chances to be better; it was only a matter of time before he stopped and left her to fend for herself.

"Okay... I'll do it," Regina said, taking a deep breath.

Emma opened up the door just as Regina reached for the handle.

"We'll be out here if you need anything." She said quickly, giving her a pat on the back.

"So you're going to spy on me?" Regina gave her a look; she knew exactly what she and Tinkerbell would do.

"No... Of course not." Emma's voice trailed off before she pushed her through the door, closing it immediately afterwards and sending Tinkerbell a triumphant look.  
On the other side of the door, Regina found herself face to face with Robin- for a moment, she had no idea what to say. By the looks of things, neither did he.

"Hey." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders a slight bit.

"Hey."

They stood in silence for a few seconds.

"...Emma and Tinkerbell told me what really happened."

"Look," Regina started, "I know I have a bit of a temper when it comes to Rumple-"

"You don't have to apologize, I believe you." Robin interjected, causing her to give him a surprised look.

"Really?" All she could do was stare.  
Robin gave her a comforting smile, making her breath catch in her throat for a moment.

"Yes really. I should've believed you the first time. It's just... I didn't know Rumple could be such an ass."

Regina cocked her head to the side curiously. "You're just now realizing this?"

Robin cast his eyes downward. If Regina wasn't so good at reading people, she wouldn't have noticed him looking as sheepish as he did. Slowly, all the pieces mended together inside her mind.

"You made a deal with him, didn't you?"

"He's the reason Roland's alive right now," Robin said, sadness flashing across his eyes, "but now I know he's a man that can't be trusted. I can't even begin to imagine what he's done to you."

Regina didn't know what to say- that must have been some deal he struck with him. She felt a lot better inside, but concern still weighed her down slightly.

"Can I talk to Roland really fast?"

Robin smiled. "Of course you can. I think Emma persuaded him enough."

As Regina walked towards his bedroom, she passed a window where Emma and Tinkerbell's heads poked out from the base of it, going completely unnoticed by her as she walked past them. She entered Roland's bedroom to find him lying down on it, looking up at the ceiling. When he noticed her come in, his head perked up.

"Can I come in?" She asked, her voice nice and sweet.

"I guess so," Roland said nonchalantly in reply.

Regina went over to his bed and lay down on the opposite side; though with how big the bed was, there wasn't much space between the two.

"Roland, I want you to know how sorry I am you had to see all that this morning," Regina said, taking no time in breaking the ice.

Roland turned his head to the side so he was facing her. "You said you used good magic," he told her, "that wasn't good magic."

"I know. But do you know why I did what I did?"

The boy simply shrugged.

"I did that because I thought he was going to hurt you. And I couldn't let that happen," she smiled towards him as he gave her a slightly surprised look with his eyes.

"I- I love you Roland. I couldn't let him do anything to you, because you mean so much to me."

The words rushed out of her mouth before she could really comprehend what she was saying.

His eyes filled with tears as he heard her words- she loved him. He was only four, but he knew love was a strong and special word.

"I love you too Regina."

She immediately wrapped her arm around him and held the boy close to her as she felt hot tears spring up in her eyes. Right here, right in this moment, she felt a peaceful bliss that made her heart swell with emotion. She had Roland, the boy who didn't care that she was once queen, the boy who saw her for who she really was and still loved her. They were both laying on a worn, straw filled bed that dipped down in the middle; yet Regina felt like she had everything she could ever ask for.


	12. A Fresh Start

"Is everything okay between you two?" Robin asked once she finally came out of his room. Regina smiled towards him.

"Yeah," she said simply, "everything's fine. He just fell asleep actually."

Robin seemed surprised. "Really? He usually puts up a fight every day about it."

"I guess that means he likes me better," Regina smirked back at him.

"I've only raised him for four years!" Robin shot her an offended look, causing her to let out a laugh. "That's like me saying Henry loves me better than he loves you- which is total crap by the way, because he doesn't seem to like me very much."

"What're you talking about, Henry likes you!" Regina couldn't believe what she was hearing. "He just needs to get to know you better, that's all."

"Roland talks about him a lot, you know. That child of yours sure has a lot of stories to tell." Robin said, eyes gleaming with something Regina couldn't quite catch.

"As do you I'm guessing. Let's sit down," he gestured her over to the couch as he had done plenty of times before. Regina was starting to get used to the routine.

"I want to get to know you better," he gave her another one of his charming smiles.

Regina raised her eyebrows slightly. "Me? How about we talk about you, my life's not that interesting."

"You sent three fourths of an entire realm into a curse for twenty eight years, I beg to differ." He threw his words back at her.

She was never comfortable about talking about herself. It always felt better to hear about other people's problems.

"Well... What do you want to know?"

Robin felt a feeling of superiority being asked this question- he wanted to know so many things.

"How was it being married to the king?"

Regina saw that one coming. She spent almost four years with him, but quite honestly, she didn't know where to begin.

"Let's start with this," she told him, "do you want the story that everyone wants to hear or the less pretty one? Because you might not like what you hear."

There was a huge difference between the factious smile she put on for the crowd and what actually happened. She had grown so entirely sick of pretending that things were alright, living in a world she didn't belong in to the slightest bit.

"I want you to tell me whatever you want to tell me," he shrugged, certainly not wanting to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do.

Regina just stared at him. He wanted her to be honest? Nobody ever wanted to hear the truth from her. Instead of reciting the same speech about how 'wonderful it was the king gave her the opportunity', she actually had to come up with something.

"The king was a very genuine man," she started out; it was the truth, his heart was in the right place. "But... He never wanted to get to know me. I mean, I don't blame him, he still loved his first wife. To him, all I was his trophy he dragged everywhere with him- to meetings, dinners, balls... It was absolute hell," she could already feel her emotions take over. "The night of our wedding, he called me up to his chambers and... And..." The tears began falling in an uncontrollable notion, leaving Robin with a sad pang in his heart.

"I was eighteen, I didn't know what any of that stuff was... My mother didn't tell me anything. He was this weight I couldn't get off me, sometimes... Sometimes his maid would come and get me in the dead of night and... I was always so scared..."

Robin couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was king Leopold, the seemingly kind old man who had a beautiful daughter and had the perfect life- he realized how wrong he was.

"I always felt like every time he did that to me, he was withering a part of me away, all the ignorance my mother raised me with... Until, one day, I stopped caring." She paused to wipe the tears off her face, just now realizing what she was really telling him.

"I'm so sorry," she said quickly, looking sheepishly towards him. "You probably didn't want to know all that. It's just... I haven't told anyone that before- nobody's ever asked."

Robin put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I'm the one that asked the question."

"It felt good finally telling someone about it," Regina admitted, "why don't you tell me about your wife? Let's divvy out some of the pain here."

Robin couldn't help but smile at her change in subject. "Okay then. Ask away,"

Regina tucked her knees up against her chest comfortably. "Anything really- what was she like, how did you two meet?"

Robin sighed. He didn't talk much about his wife, it resurfaced all the feelings he kept locked inside. It was hard not thinking about it, though; Roland reflected her in so many ways.

"We actually grew up in the same village of children," he let out a small smile, remembering all the memories. "My father was never around and my mother died when I was seven, so she was the only friend I had for a long while."

Regina couldn't help but smile. Everything he was saying reminded her of Daniel.

"What was her name?"

"Katrina."

"Pretty name," Regina replied.

"I asked her to marry me when we both turned twenty; all I had was my horse Westson and a small bag of keepsakes, but we ran off and started a life on the streets together."

That was everything she could've dreamed for with Daniel.

"Sounds like you were happy," she said, musing in the bright flame that was dancing in his eyes.

"Very happy," Robin smiled, "it was on the streets I met the original merry men- they're still my closest friends today. We were all starving, cold, helpless... But we didn't deserve to be. So that's why we started taking from the rich to give to the poor, the people who don't deserve to be in the state they're in. All these people who drown themselves in riches- kings, queens-"

He stopped abruptly when he realized what he was saying. Regina rolled her eyes and gestured for him to continue.

"I'm not a thief though."

"I never said you were," she said mildly, giving him a look. "So what happened to her?"

"Well, she... She got sick." Robin said sullenly, "she got sick a couple months after we found out we were expecting Roland."

Regina reached forward and took his hand. "I'm sorry. You know, I lost someone I loved too. But you know what he told me right before I lost him?" She didn't wait for a response.

"He said, love again. You and I... We can love again."

Robin didn't know what to say to that. Here she was, Regina Mills, the evil queen that everybody resented, sitting adjacent to him with her legs tucked up to her body telling him that she understood exactly what he was going through. He shouldn't let her near his son in fear of her snapping his neck, yet he adored seeing them together. She was the exact opposite of what everyone else thought of her- and he realized he couldn't get enough.

Before he realized what he was doing, Robin leaned forward until he could feel her breath on his face. Regina froze, waiting for him to make his move. She felt a wave of something pass through her and she felt his lips on hers, closing her eyes; it felt so unreal she couldn't help but want more of it.

He brought his hands up to her face and pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss. She was flawless- perfect in his eyes.

Pulling away slightly, Robin gazed into her eyes, sending her a smile that made her melt inside, his hands still holding the sides of her face.

This is it, he thought, we can love again.


	13. Everybody Loves Regina

She had to quit staring at him- she probably looked like a complete idiot. Casting her eyes down, Regina tried to concentrate on her hands that were placed nervously in her lap. And when she did, she caught sight of her silver wristwatch that immediately put worry on her face.

"It's late," Regina said, rushing her words, "everyone is probably wondering were I am."

Robin eyed her sadly, knowing she was right. "When can I see you again?"

"Soon, hopefully," she smiled back at him, standing up from the couch and smoothing her hands over the fabric of her pants. "Tell Roland I'm glad we're friends again."

Robin chuckled lightly as he followed her towards the door. "Definitely. Hope you have good rest of the day."

He opened the door, allowing Regina to walk through. "I'll sure try," she replied, though she knew it probably wasn't going to happen. Things with the Charmigs and the friends they picked up along the way was uneventful most of the time- unless Emma was yelling at her boyfriends again.

Once the door closed behind her, Regina was engulfed by the peaceful afternoon air. She wondered where Emma and Tinkerbell ran off to; her suspicions were resolved when she heard the sound of running footsteps behind her.

She spun around with her hands on her hips, immediately sending the both of them a glare filled with suspicion.

"Oh hey Regina... Didn't see you there."

"Were you two... Spying on me through the window?"

"No no, of course not." Tinkerbell said, though it wasn't very convincing.

Emma was great at hiding things. Tinkerbell on the other hand, was not.

"You're both pathetic," Regina rolled her eyes, honestly not surprised.

"But he kissed you! Regina, holy shit he totally kissed you!" Emma exclaimed in a high pitched voice.

"It's not that big of a deal," Regina said defensively. Inside she had a feeling this was payback for bugging her about Hook back in Neverland.

"Of course it's a big deal!" Tinkerbell said, the smile on her face resembling someone who was seeing a puppy for the first time. "Regina's got herself a hot new boyfriend," Emma teased.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Dear, your face is so red," Tinkerbell giggled, "you're so adorable Regina."

Regina scowled. Never before had anyone called her adorable.

Emma hooked her arm around her neck as they began walking. "You know we're just messing with you. I never thought I would see the day Regina Mills actually got a boyfriend! And, no, Graham doesn't count."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She shot back, "it's not like I'm a bad girlfriend."

Emma gave her a look. "Honey, you murdered the poor guy because he wouldn't sleep with you anymore. But don't worry, I won't tell Robin that."

Tinkerbell looked at her with surprise. "You killed someone for that reason?"

Regina raised her hands up defensively. "Look, I regret what I did! You don't think I miss Graham?"

"I miss him too." Emma said, her voice saddening. "You know, we should probably head back to everyone else- Henry's probably wondering where we are."

Regina was grateful for the subject change. "I'm sure he is. But you two should keep your mouths shut about the whole kiss thing, okay? If anyone's going to tell him it's going to be me. And Miss Swan-" Regina gently shrugged away from the hold she had around her shoulders- "revenge is a two way street, don't forget."

Emma narrowed her eyes playfully towards her. "Glad you're back to your usual self."

Regina gave her a trademark smile before they all disappeared in purple smoke.  
\--

Henry was the first one to come bounding over to them. He had quite a concerned look on his face.

"Mom, are you okay?" He asked Regina, wrapping his arms around her middle.

"Everything's fine, Henry," Regina told him reassuringly, slightly surprised he was showing so much affection towards her.

"You were crying!" Henry shot back, "you never cry."

Regina gave him a squeeze, her face softening. "We worked everything out, promise."

He really hoped that was true. He knew his mom messed up sometimes, but she didn't deserve to be so sad.

"Are you still feeling sick?" Emma asked her, "sometimes hangovers last for a while."

Regina shook her head. "I think it passed. It'll be a while before I'll drink again."

Emma chuckled. "It's now a personal goal of mine to get you trashed Regina."

She would like to see her try. It certainly didn't feel like just the night before she went out to the pub with Robin- it felt like an eternity ago.

"You two sound like you've been best friends for years," Snow teased, walking over towards them.

Regina and Emma exchanged glances. "There's no way we're friends!" They almost said in unison, making Snow laugh louder.

"Man, I never thought I would see the day when my stepmother and my daughter actually get along!"

Regina rolled her eyes. She was almost as irritating as Emma was.

"Where's Charming?" Regina shot her a sarcastic smile, "he's always trailing behind you like your little puppy."

"He's meeting with some old friends," Snow replied, "but don't change the subject- how'd things with you know who go?"

"He kissed her, that's what!" Emma said energetically, causing Snow to gasp with surprise.

"Regina that's great!" She loved seeing her so flustered; she knew she would get it for teasing her so much, but she couldn't resist. Snow stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, causing Regina to instantly try and pull back. But her stepdaughter had an iron grip around her, she could only groan irritably as she resisted using magic on her.

"He kissed you?!" Henry almost shouted, looking completely dumbstruck.

Regina didn't want Henry to find out this way, she was nervous to see how he would react. She finally wrenched her way out of Snow's hug, sending her an awful glare as she did so.

"I am a queen, not a play toy." She growled towards her before turning to Henry.

"Is he your boyfriend now?" Her son asked, his eyebrows knit in a scowl.

"No, he isn't my boyfriend," Regina said, leaning down so she was at we level with him. "I honestly don't know what we are."

Henry didn't know what to think. Graham was her boyfriend once, but for some reason she never wanted much to do with him. She always tried to hide Graham from him, though it was obvious they were together. Henry saw them kiss a couple times, but that was about it. But he was twelve now, he knew more about what dating was.

"Okay..." He started hesitantly, "I guess you can be his girlfriend, if you want to. But I need to get to know him better first- I need to know he won't do anything to hurt you."

Regina smiled warmly towards her son. How did he get to be so old? "That sounds like a plan. I'm just glad I have you looking after me."

She didn't realize until now just now lucky she was.


	14. The Merry Men

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The merry men finally make their debut!

There was a knock on his door once again. Robin got up to answer it; he was surprised Regina was back- a good kind of surprised. It had been a long night since she last came over.

When he opened the door, though, it wasn't Regina who was there.

"Hey Robin, haven't seen you for a while." A large, hefty man said with an inviting smile.

Robin smiled back, allowing him and the rest of the men in.

"What have you been up to?" One of the men asked, taking a seat among the others in his living room.

"I've been working on fixing the horse pen in the back." Robin lied with a surprising amount of smoothness to it.

"Hi guys!" Roland came in the room with a wide grin on his face, excited to see his dad's friends again.

"Nice to see you Roland," Little Jon said, moving over on the couch to allow the boy some room as he climbed up. "You're looking happy this morning."

"I am happy," Roland let out a giggle.

"Well we missed you, lad." Everyone joined in an agreement, all sending the four year old good hearted smiles.

"So what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" Robin asked, trying to backtrack in his mind where he had last left off with his merry men.

"We're going on a run tonight, don't you remember?" One of them said, "we've been planning this one for weeks."

Robin sighed. He completely forgot about that.

"Right, that's tonight," he muttered, already feeling stressed out. He would have to find someone to babysit his son, and somehow he would have to get the message to Regina.

"Now, King Author's fort will be pretty tough to get out unseen, but if we come in from the south side we have a pretty good chance at getting away."

"I scoped out the area," another one of them said, "it's not that big, the woods will be our ally in this one. The problem is, his army will have weapons near or even on them when we come."

It felt like an eternity since he last visit with his men; he did miss this, planning their escapades, feeling the rush that came with it. In all honesty, though, being caught up with Regina nearly erased his mind completely of all his duties as the head of the merry men.

"We need that crown," he told his group, "do you know how many weeks we could feed the people down at the village for?"

Everyone gave collective murmurs in agreement.

Just then, there was a knock at the door once again. Robin's face immediately froze- impeccable timing. Roland was up and running towards the door before he could even blink himself out of his in total shock.

The door swung upon and there stood Regina and Henry, both their expressions turning extremely guilty as they glanced around the room.

"Oh, sorry, didn't know you had company!" Regina said, flustered, "Henry and I can come back later."

"Mom, those are the merry men! I want to meet them!"

She shot her son a threatening look at his outburst.

"Regina, you have to stay!" Roland sided with Henry, giving her a sad look with his eyes.

"You should, it'll give you a chance to meet this group of mine." Robin said in a pretty convincing tone.

Regina still looked extremely doubtful, but she let Henry tug her through the doorway.

"I knew it was a girl! I knew it!" Little John exclaimed victoriously, "there's no way you can be this absent minded without there being a girl in the picture."

Robin's face reddened slightly as he tried keeping his composure. "Okay, fine- I admit it."

Henry was practically dragging his mom towards them now. Regina didn't want to meet a bunch of rowdy guys that were probably drunk, she didn't belong with these types of people.

Everyone's face fell when they saw who the woman really was.

"No way."

Robin braced himself for the worst.

"You're- you're dating... The evil queen?!"

"Queen, yes," Regina said hesitantly, "but the whole evil thing is kind of a thing of the past."

"She's really nice!" Roland came to her defense, not knowing what they were all talking about.

"How... How are you even here right now? Where did you send all those people with that curse you enacted?

Regina pulled up a chair from the kitchen and sat down, Henry doing the same.

"A place far away from here," she told them, "we had to travel to Neverland about a month ago to rescue my son here, Henry."

He gave a small wave to the small crowd about him, his excitement soon getting the best of him. "You guys are the merry men! Are you planning a heist or something?"

They all exchanged glances to one another. "I'm afraid that's top secret information, boy."

Robin rolled his eyes. "He can know, it's not like we're completely hidden from everyone else."

Little John exhaled deeply as he studied the boy- quite the interesting clothes he was wearing. "We're planning to take King Author's crown while they prepare for battle with Midasis's kingdom."

Instantly, the boy's eyes widened. "Cool! Can I help?"

Robin laughed at Henry's excitement. "Sorry, but this is for trained merry men only," he said, feeling bad the second the words left his mouth, "which means, one of these days, I better start training you."

Henry looked at him in surprise. "You- you'd teach me how to shoot arrows and to sneak around and stuff?"

"Well, if your mother says you can. I promise."

His pleading eyes turned to Regina, who looked pretty skeptical. "Well... If Robin will look out for you..."

Henry's surprise continued- his mother never let him do anything that would put him in harms way. It was a dream of his to fight like his grandpa did in the enchanted forest, fighting ogres, clashing swords with the enemy, in this case, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

"Roland looks like he could use someone to play with him," Regina said, nudging him slightly, "you should let him show you his room- it's pretty neat."

Henry knew she was trying to kick him out, but in the happy state he was in, he knew he shouldn't test the waters with her.

"I'll show you!" Roland grinned, taking Henry's hand and pulling him out of his chair. Regina watched them both take off towards his room; it created such a happy feeling inside of her to see them together.

Once they both vanished out of sight, it was just her and a room full of men.

"I still think this is impossible," Little John told Regina, "you're saying you aren't evil anymore? No offense, but how can you trust her Robin?"

Robin stiffened his composure slightly. "Because she changed. She has her son now, and more importantly, she saved Roland from being stuck in Neverland."

Nobody could believe what they were hearing- the idea was absolute insanity.

"Okay, so you're not evil anymore. You're still a queen!" He then turned to Robin.

"Aren't we supposed to despise people like her? People that get everything they ask for without having do anything?"

Ironically, Regina had gotten almost nothing she asked for in the past.

"She's different," Robin replied simply and confidently back to his friend.

Though it was an effortless thing to say, Regina couldn't help but feel touched by the way he was standing up for her.

"Personally, I hated being related to royalty," Regina told them, "it's way too much work. Everything you do has to be perfect; you have to be perfect... It's like being forced into a mold you're not supposed to fit into."

She could still sense the distrust in his eyes, though at least now the man wasn't staring at her like he was biting her head off.

"I guess if I had to pick a side, I'd pick yours. I think it's a very noble thing for you to do." She stole a quick glance towards Robin.

Little John sighed, knowing he wouldn't argue with Robin- he was his leader, after all.

"Alright then, let's get planning."  
\--

Henry swiped his eyes across the room, seeing just about a thousand toys littered on the walls and small shelves. Roland instantly started running his mouth excitedly about who knew what; the twelve year old wasn't really paying attention.

"This is Freddy, he's my favorite teddy bear." Roland smiled, shoving a fuzzy brown bear in his face.

Henry took the bear from him and examined it for a few seconds. Sure, this boy was a sweet kid. He was just so... Young.

"I used to have an elephant that I slept with at night," Henry admitted, setting the teddy bear down gently.

Roland cocked his head to the side. "What's an elephant?"

"It's an animal, back were I'm from."

Roland grinned widely. "I wanna see where you live one day."

Henry couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah. It would be fun."

"You wanna play a game?" Roland asked, climbing on his bed and reaching for one of the shelves overhead. Henry didn't even have to respond, for the game was placed in his lap within seconds.

"It's called shoots and ladders. It's really fun!"

Henry shrugged. "I guess so, how do you play?"

Roland dropped to his stomach on the floor and began taking the wooden pieces out of the box. The other boy followed, trying to pay attention to his loose directions.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.  
\--

Little John and the rest of the merry men had cleared out of the house after about twenty minutes of planning. Regina knew they didn't really want to talk in front of her; they had all seemed pretty uncomfortable with her being there. But Regina had to admit, they were all respectful towards Robin.

Turning towards her, Robin gave her an uneasy look. "Sorry they were all hard on you. They're just not used to change."

"I don't blame them, I wouldn't trust me either," Regina admitted dryly.

"Well I trust you," he rebutted, making Regina smile.

"Now, I apologize for not telling you about our plan for tonight."

"That's okay, it's your job- you have nothing to be sorry for."

Robin still looked apologetic. "Could... Could I ask you to babysit Roland tonight? It would only be for tonight, we should be back in the morning."

Her smile broadened, a surge of excitement running through her as she thought about all the things she and the four year old could do.

"Of course I'll do it. Do you want me to take him to our little hotel room with everyone else?"

"Well, Roland doesn't really like sleeping anywhere else- I think it's just a phase. You can sleep in my bed; there really isn't any other place in this small house."

Regina found it amusing how he seemed so nervous to ask her. "Yeah, that works," she then paused for a moment, thinking about Henry. "Can Emma and Henry stay over too? Henry so I won't be too lonely, and Emma because she probably wouldn't like the idea Henry of staying over here."

Robin sent her a grateful smile. "Sounds like a plan. Thank you so much Regina, you're saving me having to ask the lady closest to us to look after him- Roland absolutely hates her."

She let out a quiet laugh. "How are Henry and Roland doing? They've been really quiet."

The both of them set out for Roland's closed door, curious to see what they could be doing. When they entered the room, they stumbled upon something unexpected- Henry and Roland were both laying on the floor, playing a seemingly intense board game. They both looked up at the adults as they walked in, surprised looks on their faces.

"What's this?"

"I showed Henry how to play daddy!" Roland exclaimed happily, "he's good at playing it."

Regina smiled warmly towards the excited little boy, loving the look of love in his eyes.

"Would you mind if we joined in?" She asked, realizing she didn't really have anything else to do.

"I don't know if you can beat Roland at shoots and ladders, though. He's pretty skilled." Robin countered playfully.

They both sat down on the dirt floor and listened to Roland explain the game again, running his mouth like a motor due to his excitement. Regina leaned over and gave her son a comforting rub on the back, whispering the words "thank you" towards him.

Things were finally looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll see how their little "slumber party" goes next time!


	15. Sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's an extra long chapter to start off the weekend! And for all Captain Swan lovers, I think you'll enjoy this one ;) nothing is final though, things could still possibly change with Neal! Thanks for all the love this story has gotten so far!

Emma glanced down at her watch for the hundredth time that day. It was almost four in the afternoon, what was taking Regina and Henry so long to get back? The blonde was completely fine with Regina being gone a lot; heck, she could do whatever she wanted. But Henry was her son too, and she wanted to spend more time with him, though Emma certainly didn't want to have another custody battle with the queen.

"What're you doing inside on a day like this?" Hook asked her as he came through the door to their room.

Emma glanced up at him and his sarcasm, not feeling like getting into another debate with the man.

"I'm waiting for Henry to get back, he's been gone for hours," she muttered back in reply. Hook walked over towards her and sat down across from the woman.

"What, you don't trust Regina will take care of him?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Of course I trust her, it's just that, I don't know..."

Just then, a spark of revaluation waved over him, a sly grin replacing his concern.

"Ah, I see. You're jealous of Regina because you think Henry favors her more than you."

Emma scowled defensively back at him, though she couldn't hide the fact that he was right. Over the part few weeks, everything seemed to revolve around Regina- she was getting attention like no other- the positive kind, too. It wasn't like Emma thought she didn't deserve it all, it just felt... Odd.

"I haven't been the most exciting parent to him lately." She admitted.

"Well why not?" Hook countered her statement without any hesitation. "You're the long lost princess of the enchanted forest; you belong here, this is where you came from. There are thousands of people who would love to meet you, the hero who broke a curse and saved the day. You can be very exciting if you wanted to be, love."

Emma processed what he had said. It was true, yet all she really felt like doing was what she had been doing along- getting to know Henry better. Especially since he was put though hell and back in Neverland.

"Where is everyone else anyways?"

"Mary Margret and David were invited to an 'oh so special' lunch with a few old friends, Neal is hunting or something, and I honestly have no idea where Tinkerbell went off to," Emma told him blandly, checking her watch again.

Hook didn't like to see the blonde like this; he missed her usual snarky comebacks. "Tell you what," he started, Emma's green eyes finding his, "how about I take you to the villages sometime- you know, to make things more exciting for you."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Like... A date?"

Hook shrugged. "I don't care what you want to call it, you just need to get out. Seeing you like this is going to make me go insane."

Emma let out a light laugh. "Okay then, the villages it is. You're not getting me drunk though, I'm letting you know that right now."

"Who's getting drunk?" Came a voice that belonged to her son, who had just appeared in the middle of the room, along with Regina.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Emma smiled, relieved to see him again finally. "What have you been up to?"

Henry grinned. "Roland was showing us this game of his, and we played it for a while."

"Seems like you and Roland are getting to know each other better," she said, putting an arm around him as he came to sit down next to her.

"Why were you two just sitting here?" Regina asked, eyeing the pirate curiously.

"I was just waiting for Henry to come back, that's all." Emma said with a slightly defensive tone of voice.

"I see," Regina muttered, trying hard not to smirk towards the obvious body language she was putting out- Emma was jealous.

"That reminds me," Regina started slowly, "I have something I have to ask you."

Weird, Emma thought, she never went to her for something. Ever.

"Uh, ask away then."

Regina took a breath. "Would it be okay if Henry and I spent the night over at Robin's house tonight? He won't be there- obviously, I mean I wouldn't stay over if he was-"

"Wait," Emma stood up, cutting her off, "you're asking for my... permission?"

She didn't even care what she was talking about, not yet, anyways. Regina never asked for anyone else's approval except her own. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, where she wanted.

"Well I know you'd put up a fight if I didn't ask," Regina snapped back.

And to top it off, she couldn't keep the sides of her face from flushing as she stumbled over her words. That was enough for Emma- Regina Mills was really starting to change.

"I don't even care what you're asking me, I'm totally ok with it." Emma shook her head in disbelief, "as long as I get to keep teasing you."

Henry watched as his mother went over to his other mother and enveloped her in a huge bear hug, not sure he should feel about it.

"What's wrong with you and your family?" Regina scowled, shoving Emma off her, "I hate hugs! Never liked them, never will!"

"Which is why it's funny!" Emma laughed, loving the fact that now she had the upper hand in their extremely unique relationship.

Henry couldn't keep his laughs under control, he was practically rolling over with delight. "Maybe one day I can have a normal family!"

"The only thing Miss Swan will be kissing is her pillow," Regina smirked, "now are you gonna listen to what I have to say about tonight?"

Emma forced herself to stop laughing. "Yeah, shoot."

"Robin's going on heist thing with his merry men, so he needs someone to babysit. I told him I would do it if Henry could stay over with me."

"I don't know how I feel about Henry staying over at his house," Emma said, resulting in Regina sending her a pre planned smile.

"That's why I already said you would come with me- and that's what you agreed to, so there's no getting out of it."

Emma signed, she knew there was no getting out of it. Who knew though, maybe a sleepover with the evil queen could be a fun thing.

"And what, I'm not invited?" Hook drawled, putting on a saddened expression.

"Sorry, girls night," Regina replied, "with Henry and Roland of course."

Emma sighed. "I better get my coat then."  
\--

Robin turned back around and gave his house a final look over. It had been weeks before he'd gone on one of his escapades, he had to admit he was a bit out of practice. But he believed in his small group of dedicated men; they had accomplished so much in the past, now wouldn't be any different.

"You're sure you four will be fine here?" He asked once again.

"Of course, I can figure out where everything is." Regina reassured, "now you go- they're probably waiting for you."

Robin sighed. "Okay. Know that you're free to anything here, I have anything to hide. If you want to bathe, it's there for you to use, I really don't care."

Regina shook her head. "There's no way I could ever go back to cold, non pressurized baths. That's what magic is for."

"Well, the offer still stands," Robin chuckled, "Roland doesn't really need much before bed, just make sure he has his pajamas on and he brushes his teeth. Oh! That reminds me!" He cut his sentence short and brushed past them, walking swiftly towards the kitchen.

"You'll never guess what I made for lunch." He gestured rather proudly towards a pot of chicken soup, causing Regina to let out a laugh.

"You actually got it right?" She asked jokingly, turning to his son. "Did it taste good Roland?"

The four year old bobbed his head in a yes.

"Well. I'm impressed," she tilted her head playfully to the side as he back back over to them.

"As you should be. Now Roland," Robin knelt down to look his son squarely in the eye, "you listen to Regina and Emma- they'll give me a full report when I get back."

He nodded slowly before leaning forwards to wrap his arms around his father's neck.

"I'll miss you daddy."

Robin held his son tightly in his arms; it was always such a hard thing to leave him, even if it were for a short period of time. But he trusted Regina, he knew he was in safe hands.

"I'll always be thinking of you Roland," he said in a sincere way that touched even Emma's heart. "I love you."

The boy eventually let go of Robin, tears swimming in his eyes. "Now you have fun, okay?"

Robin stood up and ruffled Henry's hair slightly before turning towards Regina, drawing a blank on how he should handle the situation. Giving into his temptation, he wrapped his arms around the woman lightly, who was taken aback for a moment, but retuned the gesture almost immediately after. He pulled back after about two seconds and flashed her a quick yet charming smile, giving Emma a grateful nod before swinging a small sack over his shoulder and disappearing into the outside world.

The sun was just beginning to set, making the sky alive with beautiful and bright colors. The four of them watched him walk across the green field until he disappeared over a hill, leaving the group completely alone in his cozy little house.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Regina asked the boys, thinking the same thing for herself and Emma. The question was more directed towards Roland- it was his house after all.

"Let's go see Nightshade and Weston!" Roland answered enthusiastically.

"Who are they?" Emma questioned, feeling like she was missing something.

"The horses," Regina told her, as if it were obvious. Emma sighed, resentfully following her and Roland around the house to the back. It was going to be a long night.  
Henry left Emma's side and caught up to Regina, a bright smile on his face.

"Can we ride them mom?"

Regina opened the gate and gave him a reluctant shake of the head.

"We shouldn't, they're not our horses," she examined the disappointed look on her sons face; one day she would love to teach him how amazing it was to ride. "But we can pet them..." She tried reasoning with the boy, "you haven't been close to a horse before, have you?"

To her surprise, Henry responded with a yes. "David said I could start riding once I mucked out Sara's stall in the stables... It was when he was taking care of me."

Regina was completely perplexed. She had no idea about any of that.

"Well, I love horses," Regina smiled, walking over to Nightshade and stroking her hands gently over the animal's long, narrow nose.

"I didn't know you were so good with them," Emma said, watching her look so affectionately towards the black horse. Regina turned her head to face her, giving her a smug expression.

"Do you want to pet the horse Emma?" She spoke towards her as if she were Roland's age. The blonde scowled, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, I don't like them." It wasn't particularly that, it was just that Emma Swan had never actually been close to one before. They were huge, strong, and incredibly fast. That was all she had to know.

"You don't like horses?" Roland asked with astonishment, instantly grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the horse.

"Nightshade is a nice horse. Weston doesn't really like people."

Emma eyes the horse uneasily, knowing fully that Regina would bait her with it in the near future.

"Come on, the savior needs to be able to say she's at least touched a horse,"

Regina rolled her eyes, grabbing hold of her hand and placing it right between the animal's eyes. "See, not that bad."

The small, black horse had a sleek, thin coat of fur and big, omniscient eyes that seemed to stare blankly back at her. It wasn't that bad, in fact, it wasn't bad at all.

"It's my turn now!" Henry said, walking up in between his two moms to pet Nightshade.

That's how they spent the next hour, laughing and talking about horses as they stole bites of the apples and sugar cubes that Regina had conjured up for the horses. She had even persuaded Weston to emerge from the far side of the pen, baiting him with a nice, red apple. Henry was now begging for his own horse once they got to Storybrooke, and Emma seemed to be warming up to them.

"Alright, I suppose we should get back inside now, it's getting late." Regina told them, gazing up at the now blackened sky.

Both Roland and Henry let out disappointed groans, but they new better than to talk back to Regina. They all said their goodbyes to Nightshade, who had gotten the pamper treatment that night. The air was starting to get chilly, making the glowing light from the house seem extremely welcoming.

"It's almost eight, Roland. You have to get to bed soon."

The boy immediately scowled. "No, I don't wanna!"

Regina laughed, taking his hand and leading him to his room. "It'll be okay, we'll all go to sleep soon too. I'll help you get ready, if you want."

The boy couldn't argue much with that. He opened his drawers and pulled out some clothes, climbing up onto his bed and pulling off his shirt.

Regina could help but laugh when his arms blindly waved in the air, his head stuck in his shirt. She helped him tug it off and get his pajamas on, already feeling tired herself.

"Why don't you go brush your teeth, I'll be back in a minute to tuck you in." She proposed, remembering what Robin had said. Being a mother came easily to her, it was like reliving all the moments she had with Henry when he was that age. In all honesty, it felt as though Roland had been hers forever, even if forever was only about a month.

Regina got up from his bed and went to go see what plans Emma had for the rest if the night, which turned out to be nothing. As soon as she left, Roland got up and grabbed his toothbrush, dipping it in a pale of water and smothering it in white paste before sticking it in his mouth. Personally, he was overjoyed at the thought of going to sleep knowing Regina was just a few feet away. She would still be there when he woke up too.

He spit his mouthful back into the bucket and climbed back into his bed, waiting for Regina to come back like she promised to.

"You know, I'm feeling pretty tired myself," Emma admitted, "today was kind of a long day- Mary Margret and David sure have a lot of things planned."

Regina agreed with her slightly; the morning had started with her and Henry being introduced to the famous merry men. It did sound pretty lame, but sleep was always a good thing.

"So there's only one other bed in this house?"

"And a couch," Regina added.

"Who's getting what?"

Regina sighed. It was the all important question.

"How about this," Henry stepped in, before they could start their usual debate,

"I'll sleep on the couch, and you two get the bed."

Emma and Regina exchanged surprised glances.

"Um, I don't think that'll work," Emma said quickly, "I need my space."

"You two will just keep on fighting anyways." Henry raised an eyebrow, "and I need my space too. I'm twelve, I can't be sleeping next to my mom every night."

Regina scowled, she really didn't like the idea. Emma was annoying enough, she didn't want to have her breathing down her neck all night.

"See, I knew you'd like the idea," their son said with a smile, "I'll set myself up on the couch."

Regina rolled her eyes, remembering about Roland. "I swear," she pointed a finger towards the blonde, "if you hog the bed I'll push you off and make you sleep on the floor."

Leaving Emma with a threatened look on her face, Regina re- entered Roland's room to find him patiently waiting on his bed.

"We're all going to bed right now too," Regina told the boy, "we wouldn't do anything without you."

She opened up the covers, letting Roland crawl into them. He lay his small head on his pillow and stared up at her with sleepy eyes.

"Do you have fun here Regina?" He asked her as she began tucking him in.

"Of course I do," she said with a smile, "now you go to sleep, we have a full day tomorrow."

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

"I'll always be here, Roland." She said softly, running her fingers through his thick hair.

"Goodnight," he muttered, his eyes growing heavy. For the first time, he actually felt safe as he went to sleep without his dad with him. It felt good to know she would be there for him.

As Regina entered Robin's room, she silently griped to herself about sharing a bed with Emma Swan; just because she was starting to hate her less didn't mean she wanted to sleep next to her. The queen had a thing called personal space she didn't like most people invading.

"The like goes through right here," Emma instructed, tracing an invisible line with a wave of her hand, "cross it and see what happens."

Regina threw her a nice, sarcastic smile. "Glad to know the feelings mutual." The couch seemed more and more enticing by the second.

Emma climbed onto the bed and slipped off her shoes, Regina resentfully doing the same. With a snap of her fingers, she used magic to replace her shirt with a black tank top. As she pulled up the sheets around her, Regina stared up at the ceiling with a thousand questions running though her mind at once. For starters, she was lying in Robin Hood's bed. Secondly, the savior was lying right next to her, their bodies only inches from one another.

"This is normal, right?" Regina asked, her eyes still fixed on the ceiling.

"Sure, why not," Emma mumbled, "let's just not tell my parents about this, huh grandma."

The word almost physically hurt the queen. "Call me that again and I'll slit your throat when you fall asleep."

"Oh, that's comforting," Emma rolled her eyes, "does this mean we're finally friends?"

"If I say yes, will you shut up and let me sleep?"

Emma turned around so her back was facing Regina. "Sure,"

"Then yes," Regina said, closing her eyes, "we can be friends."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't slumber parties fun? Maybe instead of all this Swan Thief Captain Swan drama we should go for the obvious ship of #SwanQueen. JUST KIDDING lol.
> 
> Reminder that you can find the finished story on ff.net :)


	16. Redeeming Herself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of the sleepover! So guys, nothing is final yet about Emma and who she'll end up with, so don't panic just yet. There's only a friendship between Emma and Regina, nothing else lol. Happy reading!

A thin ray of sunlight slipped through the window, slowly lighting up the room as the sun rose higher in the sky. Regina awoke to face the bedroom door, her mind instantly blanking for a second as to knowing where she was. Then she slowly began remembering the night before, all the fun things she did with Henry and Roland. Robins bed was surprisingly warm and comfortable, compared to the ones at the motel. She turned herself around so she was facing the window, the sunlight feeling warm on her face. Then, Regina froze when she realized there was someone else lying beside her. Her head shifted to the side to face a sleeping Emma Swan merely inches from her, making the queen fight back a scream as she ripped the covers off her and stood up, looking absolutely mortified.

She really hoped Henry enjoyed the couch.

Slipping out of the door, Regina left Emma in her deep sleep. Her bare feet padded across the cold floor, trying to figure out what to do while everyone else continued to sleep. The house was completely silent, only the drafted in sunlight lighting the hallways. Regina looked around at the house, realizing how cluttered everything was. Her motherly instincts started to automatically kick in as she resisted cleaning up everything; it was both a gift and a curse to be so OCD about messes. Henry always left something out or misplaced in their vast white house. It drove her completely crazy.

Giving in to her growing temptation, Regina walked over the living room and knelt down on her knees, starting to start through all the clutter that was scattered all over the floor. She knew it was technically wrong to look through his things, but she couldn't help it. If anything, she was giving him a thank you for letting the four of them stay over.  
In about five minutes flat, Regina had everything sorted into different piles- the biggest one by far a collection of Roland's toys. Robin sure spoiled the child; he had everything from wooden building blocks to capes fashioned from many colors of cloth sewn together.

Henry lay fast asleep on the couch as she worked, looking completely knocked out on his side. His mother tried being as silent as she could so she wouldn't wake him up.

After she placed all of Roland's things inside an empty basket she found and started on the rest of the clutter, finally feeling like a mother again after a long month of camping out on the wilderness with the Charmings.

She came across an old, tattered piece of paper, pausing for a moment to quickly unfold it. Everything inside of her told her not to read what it said, but Regina really couldn't help herself. She held it close to her face so the light would catch the ink on the as she began to read.

My dearest Robin,

I know how difficult this must be for you to understand. I know you won't stop fighting for a cure, but there is no way to stop death. Despite what we keep on telling each other, after I have this child, I will die. Robin, I want you to know how much I will miss you and seeing our child grow up. But I know you will do everything to take care him or her, just like you've been taking care of me. Just promise me you will also take care of yourself- sweetheart, promise me you can find it in yourself to be happy again. I love you, very much.

Marian

"Being a bit nosy, are we?"

Regina spun around to see Emma standing in the doorway, her arms folded accusingly.

"No, of course not- I was just-"

"Cleaning up his house?" Emma finished for her, "can't say this is surprising."

Setting the letter down carefully on one of the shelves, Regina gave her an annoyed look. "Well our son is still sleeping, so keep it down Emma."

The blonde rolled her eyes and walking over to her. "You do know you kicked me like three times last night right?"

"Did I now." Regina replied smugly, picking up one of the baskets and putting it neatly next to the others. "Well my bad."

Emma seriously doubted that one was an accident. "Like I said, you tell anyone and it'll be the end of both of us."

Boy was that true. Regina wished there was a spell to take away that memory.

"What do you want for breakfast?" She asked, starting off for the kitchen.

"Well if you're asking..." Emma realized how much she missed Storybrooke food- her stomach was begging her for food that didn't consist of turkey legs or grits. How her parents lived here their whole lives beat her. "How about some bacon, sausage, eggs sunny side up, and some coffee."

"Do you want a buffet with that?" Regina responded sarcastically, soon pausing as she got an idea. "Well there's none of that here right now, so how do you suppose we get all these ingredients?"

Emma came over towards her and propped her elbows on the countertop.

"Hm, I dunno, magic?"

"Good answer!" Regina told her, "but guess what? I'm not gonna do it- you are."

Emma scowled at her comment. "Come on Regina, I'm hungry!"

Regina was absolutely loving being teacher for a day. "You want it, you have to make it."

Sighing, the blonde gave her a perplexed look. "Okay fine. How do I do it then?" Rumple told her to summon the anger inside of her, to think of all the people she wanted to save be casting the spell.

"Well, for simple spells like this, you have to concentrate really hard on what you want, and how your life will be better once you have it. The craving you have for all that bacon should make it pretty easy."

Emma absorbed what she was saying, thinking about how different of an approach this was.

"Do I, uh, have to say a spell, abra cadabra, anything like that?"

Regina let out a small laugh. "No, not for these spells. You not need to say anything unless you want to control someone, and some other harder spells as well. All you have to do is tune out everything else around you and think about eating all that delicious food- it does help if you close your eyes."

It was surprisingly easy to teach her magic; all she had to do was remember the simple things Rumple had told her, minus all the dark magic.

Emma obeyed the queen, closing her eyes and knitting her eyebrows in concentration. Regina watched her closely, honestly hoping she could at least get this simple task right- she was hungry too.

Her belief turned out to be right, for seconds later a huge plate of sausages, eggs, and bacon appeared in front of her. Regina couldn't help but smile.

"Open your eyes."

Emma did, a relieved look on her face when she saw the food. When she gave the plate another look over, though, Regina frowned. All the meat was still raw.

"You couldn't bother to cook it in that blonde head of yours?"

Emma grinned. "I had more than one wish- one of them was to see you slave over my food for me."

"Damn you, Emma Swan." Regina growled, irritably lighting the stovetop and throwing the bacon and sausage onto a metal bowl.

A few minutes later, the entire house was filled with the sweet aroma of breakfast sizzling on the stove. Henry sniffed the air, a smile spreading across his face as he remembered all the times he would wake up to his mom already in the kitchen, making him something yummy to eat before school. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, leaving the couch to meet up with his two mothers.

"Hey guys, sleep well?" Henry asked, observing how Emma was sitting down at the table while Regina was running all over the kitchen with three pans on the stove at once.

"Wonderful," Emma replied dryly, "can't thank you enough for proposing the idea of us sleeping together."

Henry grinned, his disheveled hair and still sleepy face adding to his triumphant complexion.

Yeah, let's not mention this to Robin either," Regina said, "I don't want him getting some crazy idea."

Emma nodded in silent agreement right as Roland entered the kitchen as well, dragging a light green blanket behind him.

"It smells yummy!" He smiled, loving to see Regina already at his house this early in the morning. His daddy always served him oats and milk for breakfast, never whatever was smelling so good

"Good, I'm glad." Regina smiled brightly towards him, shooting Emma a glare before she went back to cooking the food. "It's almost done, why don't you sit up at the table next to Emma and Henry.

Roland obeyed, choosing the chair in between them. "When's daddy coming back?"

"I dunno, hopefully soon." Emma told him, "we have to get back to everyone else."

Roland didn't understand her hurry, Regina was always looking for reasons to stay there so she didn't have to return to the others.

"Here you go, Princess Emma." Regina resisted flicking her on the head as she presented her a plate of all her favorite breakfast foods.

"Thank you Regina." The blonde flashed her a smile before she dove into her food.

"And here you go boys," she set the plates in front of them before taking a seat herself.

"Thanks mom!" Henry said, sending her a smile.

"Regina, where's my coffee?" Emma asked with a mouthful of bacon.

Letting out an irritated groan, Regina simply waved her hand, making a white porcelain mug filled with the black substance appear in front of her.

"What is this stuff?" Roland asked innocently, picking up a piece of sausage and examining it.

Henry laughed. "You eat it, it's good."

When the boy still continued to look confused, Henry leaned over and used his fork to cut it into small pieces. When he finished, he stabbed a piece with the fork and waving it in front of his face.

"Try it,"

Roland opened up his mouth and leaned forward to take it off the fork. Everyone watched him as he chewed it for a second before smiling.

"I like it!"

The three of them laughed at his delighted expression.

They all ate their breakfast peacefully, talking and laughing between bites.

After about twenty minutes, the door opened, revealing an exasperated looking Robin. They all turned around to see him, along with the rest of his crew.

"You're back so soon?" Regina asked, concerned to see how it went.

Roland was up out of his chair and running towards him within seconds, his arms already out and open.

"It went well!" Robin told them, scooping his son up in his arms, "we were able to get it."

He used his other hand to dig in the bag over his shoulder, pulling out a gleaming gold crown.

"Oh my God, that's amazing!" Emma exclaimed, looking at the crown in shock.

"Did anything go wrong?" Regina asked hesitantly.

"No, not really." Robin admitted, "just a lot of running around and shouting. We were able to catch his army pretty off guard."

Regina smiled, grateful he came back okay. "That's great, I'm glad it worked out,"

"Regina, did you clean my house?" He asked, taking a look around the living room.

Emma turned her head to face the queen; she was excited to see how she would play this one out.

"I couldn't help myself, it's a mom thing," she said, in all honesty.

Robin let out a laugh. "And you made breakfast? You've really outdone yourself!"

Regina smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, well, I had to do something to say thank you for letting us stay over."

"You're the one who agreed to babysit my son," he told her, "you keep making me more in debt to you, if anything."

"Do you guys want some food?" Regina asked, gesturing across the table, "you boys must be hungry."

The merry men seemed apt with the idea. "Oh, we couldn't impose. I don't want you to have to make us all food, you've already done enough."

Regina begged to differ. "Actually, Miss Swan here used magic to make all this food, this is about half of it."

"In my defense was insanely hungry." Emma shot back, almost immediately.

Robin shrugged, finding he wouldn't argue with that. He and the rest of the merry men made their way over towards the table, Regina using her own magic to instantly cook the food. The men piled the food on their plates, all seeming satisfied after a few seconds.

"You do realize you could've just yes magic the whole time, right?" Emma told the brunette, who looked extremely content with herself.

"Takes all the fun out of it," she replied with a shrug, standing up to taking her empty plate over to the sink.

As she did so, she felt a strong arm around her shoulders.

"I need to keep you around more often," Robin smiled, "this is the more delicious thing I've ever tasted!"

"Well thanks, always here to help." She smiled back, finding the merry men that once resented her smiling warmly at her through sips of coffee.

"You've fully redeemed yourself, Regina Mills," Little John said, "now I know what Robin here sees in you."

Regina didn't know what to say. To be accepted for who she was, that was new territory for her- and she couldn't get enough of it.

Still, she couldn't help but think about the letter.


	17. A Bright, Sunny Day

It took a good forty five minutes for every one of the merry men to clear out of the house. Robin seemed to be relieved when they finally gone.

"Now you know what life is like every time we go on a raid like that," he said, blowing a sigh of relief, the first time he had to breathe in about eighteen hours.

"Sounds exciting," Regina smiled, grabbing a cloth to start cleaning up the kitchen. Before she could wet it, though, she felt a hand stop her.

"No no no, you made all that food, let me clean all this up."

Regina gave him a look, but surrendered the cloth to him.

Emma couldn't stop stealing glances towards the two; the flirting between then was so inconspicuous- nobody could deny it.

"Okay you two, I think I'm ready to head back to the motel," Emma said, standing up to start searching for Henry, who had vanished with Roland after they had both cleaned off their plates.

"Oh, before you go," Robin started, catching the blonde's attention before she began down the hallway, "would you mind taking my son with you? I have something... Planned for Regina and this afternoon."

Regina turned around to face him, an intrigued expression on her face. "Like what?"

He simply grinned. "It's a surprise."

Emma rolled her eyes. They were so cute it was almost nauseating.

"Fine, I'll take him for a few hours. You two have... Fun." She said, tossing a smile towards Regina when he wasn't looking. "Henry, Roland, let's go!"

Seconds later, the two boys came bounding down towards the kitchen.

"You're gonna stay with Henry and me for a while, okay?"

The boy exchanged glances between his dad and the blonde woman before nodding. "Can we do something fun?"

Emma laughed. "Yeah, of course!"

"Dad promised he would take me to see the giants while they're still here!" The twelve year old exclaimed, remembering what Neal had told him.

Honestly, she had forgotten about that. "If you promise to stay with him the whole time." She told him.

Henry seemed victorious as he started for the door, Roland following him like a shadow.

"Now you be good Roland, listen to Emma!" Robin shouted to him right before they excited the house. The door then shut, leaving Regina and Robin alone in the house.

"I swear," he said to her, "he's never been this excited about being with other people before."

"Well Henry's an easy kid to get along with," she smiled back, watching him scrub the greasy pan, "how are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Robin didn't give a reply; instead, he opened up one of the cupboards overhead and pulled out a large wicker basket, one Regina immediately knew was used for picnics.

"We're going on a picnic?"

Rolling his eyes, Robin began walking around the kitchen, finding a brown loaf of bread, two glass jars (one filled with peanut butter, the other with jelly) and two white plates.

"We need to work on your patience skills," he said, matter of factly, "but yes, I'm taking you to someplace special."

"You do know I could just use-"

"Nope, don't use the M word," Robin interjected, "from now until we get back, you're not gonna use any magic."

Regina crossed her arms, knowing there was no sense in arguing with him. "Do you want me to help make the sandwiches?"

The man gave her a look as he cut the bread into thin strips. "If you make all my food for me, how am I going to learn?"

Hearing this, Regina pulled herself up on the counter so she was sitting on top of it. "Okay then, I'll observe you."

"You like peanut butter and jelly, right?"

She smiled back at him. "It's only my favorite kind of sandwich."

"Good."

Robin got to work on covering all four pieces of bread, half with peanut butter and the other half with grape jelly. He slabbed the pieces together and put them inside the basket.

"How'd I do?"

Setting herself back on the floor, Regina observed both the sandwiches. "I think you did good," she told him, "you have my approval."

Robin let out a relieved expression. "That means so much." Then, he walked over to the icebox and pulled out a small canister. "Do you like sweet tea?"

Regina nodded, and he set it in the basket.

"That's about it, you ready to head out?"

"Are we going to take the horses?"

She followed him towards the door as the question hung in the air.

"We would, but it's not that far of a walk. Besides, you said you liked waking, right?"

He opened the door, letting in the warm spring air. "Using my own words against me, huh?" Regina asked playfully, walking though the door as he held it for her.

"That's alright, it's such a beautiful day anyways."

When Regina realized she was still wearing what she had work to bed, she quickly snapped her fingers and switched into a bright yellow sundress before he could notice.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. The sunlight felt wonderful on her skin, she always loved being outside. Soon, they came upon a small lake that glistened against the intense sunlight, looking absolutely stunning.

"So this is the special place," Regina set down the basket, gazing around the scene with a slight smile. On the far side, rocks piled high on top of each other, creating a picture so perfect it was like it was almost unreal. A few trees were scattered here and there, providing shade from the sunlight.

"Yup, here it is," Robin breathed out in a sigh.

They both took a seat down under one of the trees, the grass feeling nice and cool beneath them. Robin began taking out the sandwiches, handing Regina hers before pouring the both of them tea from the canister.

"This is so nice," Regina said, "thanks for bringing me out here."

They were sitting side by side, their hands almost touching.

"No problem, I thought I'd share it with you."

Regina took a bite of her sandwich and nodded in approval. "I forgot how good the jelly is from here," she said, savoring the taste.

Soon, both sandwiches were eaten and the canister of tea was completely drained. Regina leaned back on her arms, thinking about how perfect everything was. Not just the scenery, but the fact that Robin went through all this trouble just for her. He continued to make her happy, that alone had been enough to keep her from killing anyone while back in the Enchanted Forest- first time that ever happened. Regina was sure he said something back in reply, but she knew she wasn't paying attention. His face was perfectly captured in the sunlight, making something stir up inside of her. In that moment, nothing else mattered, nothing else mattered except... him.

Slowly leaning forward, Regina's lips met with his, taking the man off guard for a second. His hands incoherently went to her sides as he pulled her closer to him so she was almost sitting in his lap.

Everything around them seemed to fade away. Robin couldn't think straight; he was kissing the most beautiful woman he could never dream of.  
Regina let out a small moan as he pushed his tongue through her mouth. She couldn't handle the taste of his lips, the way her emotions inside felt like electricity coursing through her veins. The hem of her dress began trailing higher and higher up her thighs as Robin's hands slid down past her hips so they were gripping them tightly.

Once Regina realized what was happening, she broke the kiss and backed away slightly from him, trying to get her breathing back under control.

"Sorry," she said softly, "I... I think we should slow things down a bit."

Robin took his hands off her and gave her an apologetic look. "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry."

"No no- it's me," Regina admitted, "the only relationships I've ever gotten into were all were all rushed into- except for my first one, Daniel." The brunette stumbled over her words- she didn't want him to hate her. "I guess... I want to get to know you better."

Thankfully, Robin smiled back at her. "Whatever works for you; after all, you are the queen."

That was true. "How about we play twenty questions- I'll ask you a question, and then you ask me a different one."

"Okay, ask me a question then."

Regina thought for a moment before looking back into his kind, brown eyes. "What's your favorite color?"

"That's an easy one," Robin said with a smile, "red. It's always been my favorite. What's yours?"

"You can't ask me the same question, it's against the rules!"

Robin gave her a look. "It happens to be my question too."

Rolling her eyes, Regina surrendered. "Blue, like the color of the sky." She paused for a moment, debating whether or not to ask the next question she had in mind.

"Did you used to come here with your wife?"

"Is that your next question?"

Regina nodded, really curious as to what he had to say.

"Yeah, I did." He said simply.

Regina really couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy inside of her. Also, the words from the letter wouldn't leave her alone, the secret was beginning to drive her insane.

"I read your letter." She blurted out, before he would ask her a question. Robin paused and gave her a confused look.

"The one from her... It was sitting out and I read it."

Biting her bottom lip nervously, she waited anxiously for him to say something.

"Oh. That letter." He said slowly.

"I'm so sorry." Honestly, she was. She knew it was a mistake reading it; if he had read something Daniel had given her, she knew she wouldn't be thrilled.

"It's okay," he finally said, "sometimes I forget to put them away."

Regina looked perplexed. "So... You're not mad at me?"

To her surprise, Robin chuckled. "Hey, you told me. That's all that matters."

It both annoyed her and relieved get he was so calm about everything.

"Now... Favorite animal- besides horses, of course."

Regina couldn't help but smile. "Umm... Dogs, I guess? I really don't know."

"Dogs are my favorite animal," he replied, "Roland's been begging me for one ever since his third birthday."

So, things continued to remain happy and content in that moment; there was the lake, the picnic, and an amazing man sitting beside her under the shade of the tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the little sexy scene I threw in there? I know it wasn't much but I tried lol... Who knows, maybe we'll get more of that in the future ;)


	18. Beside the Fire

Through the eyes of a four year old, the villages of the Enchanted Forest were full of bustling excitement. He hadn't been down to the one closest to his house in about a month, but every time he went, Roland couldn't help but look around in curiosity towards all the wonderful surroundings around him.

After a quick conversation with Emma and the rest of the Charmings, they had shipped both Henry and Roland off with Neal for the rest of the day. The four year old was in no place to protest, but he couldn't help but feel a bit out of place- he didn't know Henry's dad very well. But he was proving himself to be nice so far, the man bought him and Henry some cotton candy as they traveled around from place to place.

"Are we gonna miss them?" Henry asked Neal impatiently, "they might be gone already!"

Neal gave his son a look. "It's not like they're zoo animals."

"Yeah, but it's on my list of things to do while I'm here!"

"Well if it's on your list, then it has to be done," Neal smiled, patting the twelve year old on the back. Things with Emma were going okay, but the area he really wanted to be better in was his relationship with his son.

"Are giants scary?" Roland asked, sounding extremely young compared to the other two.

"Nah, they've pretty friendly ever since Anton fixed their bad relationship with humans. They're pretty interested in things we do."

Still, Roland seemed skeptical. Henry grabbed the little boy's hand as he stuffed another piece of cotton candy into his mouth, dragging him down the cobblestone street alongside Neal.

"Well, how far away are they away from us?"

"If I remember right, they're camping on the far side of the village, right by the edge of the forest. I passed them while I was out hunting yesterday." Neal replied, trying to keep up with Henry's fast pace.

"Robin promised me he would teach me how to use a bow and arrow," Henry told him, a smile sneaking it's way onto his face.

There it was, that name again. He knew Regina had been hanging out with him fairly often, but heck, he barely knew who she was, let alone this mystery man. Neal could care less who she hooked up with; it surprised him slightly that Henry had taken such a liking to a man he just met. And now he was stuck babysitting his son.

"You know, I could teach you how to shoot, Henry." Neal said cautiously, "I'm pretty good at it."

Henry paused for a moment, not wanting to upset his father. "Yeah... I know. But he's Robin Hood, that's kinda his thing."

Neal didn't want to say anything bad in front of the man's kid, so he chose his words carefully. "Did you only agree to let him teach you so Regina would be happy?"

They turned the corner and exited the main section of the village, getting closer to were the giants were. Shifting his weight slightly, Henry looked up at his dad.

"Umm... Sort of, but I really do want to learn from him. He's a really nice guy, he has a lot of stories to tell."

"What... What does he and Regina do together?" He immediately knew he struck a sour cord in his son; his face scrunched up in a perplexed notion.

"I dunno, stuff. It's not like they're dating though, because she would tell me if they were."

"Daddy doesn't tell me what they do, I even asked him for you Henry." Roland said encouragingly, swinging his arm back and forth.

Neal knew he shouldn't have asked him that- he would have to do some researching later. Surely Emma knew something about it all. The relationship he had with the evil queen want a strong one at all; actually, they had only shared small, unimportant conversations between one another in the past. If he took away everything his father knew about Regina Mills, Neal knew just about nothing.

"Okay Robbie, you're going to be on your best behavior right?"

The four year old scowled. "My name is Roland!" He accented each syllable distinctly towards him.

"Oh yeah, right. You two Henry, I don't need your mom mad at me again."

Henry nodded, noticing how close they were to the giants camp. "Hey dad, if we're looking for giants, shouldn't they be... I don't know, giant?"

Letting out a laugh, Neal ruffled his son's hair. "They can make themselves smaller so they're not stepping on people."

Both Roland and Henry giggled as they got closer to the three figures in the nearing distance, presumably them.

"Now these guys are from a different place Anton came from," Neal told them, "all of Anton's family were killed because of David's twin, James. So maybe not mentioning you're related to him would be a good idea."

Henry thought about what he had said. Why would Prince James want to destroy them?

"Hey guys, would you mind taking a second to answer some questions?" Neal asked towards the three giants, who were conversing with one another, "I have some boys here that really want to meet a giant."

They turned to face the two boys, taking a second before smiling at them. Henry let out a relieved sigh, for a second he was nervous they wouldn't like him.

"Sure, ask whatever you want."

Neal backed up to give his son the center stage, Roland shrinking closer to him with a nervous look on his face. Henry took a deep breath.

"Hi, I'm Henry. I'm not really from here, but I know a lot about this place. I have a storybook back at home; you guys are all in it."  
\--

His fingers laced around hers as they walked across the bright green field. It was starting to get late in the afternoon; the sun was still beating high in the sky.

"Thanks for taking me out there again." Regina told him, really meaning what she was saying.

"We'll have to do it again with the boys sometime. The lake is pretty fun to swim in."

Regina looked back at him. "That would be fun. I guess I'll have to pay you back on of these days, you're too nice to me, Robin."

"Easy, pay me back by cooking for me." He grinned, "it's not like I'm gonna get any better at it."

Rolling her eyes, she couldn't help but smile.

"And you should smile more," he told her, grabbing her by the waist with one hand and her legs with the other. Regina soon let out a surprised yelp as he lifted her off the ground, holding her arms right around his neck.

"Because you look amazing with a smile."

Even then, she couldn't wipe a smile off her face. "Are you crazy? Put me down!"

Robin simply shook his head. "This is too much fun!"

"We're never going to get back to your house if you keep on stalling!"

"That's the fun of it," Robin said, spinning himself around with her in his arms.

"Then I guess you'll just have to carry me the whole way back," she smirked, suddenly feeling completely okay with the new plan.

"Well it's not like you weigh much."

He began starting on the way back to the house, trying to keep his hands from slipping.

"I wasn't serious!" Regina exclaimed, "I'm not a child, I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own."

Robin gently put her down, looking seemingly disappointed.

"I don't doubt your manliness, if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh thank goodness," he replied sarcastically, blowing out an imaginary sigh of relief.

Regina then glanced down at her watch, noticing how late it was. "I should probably get back soon, Henry and Roland could come back from the villages any moment now."

Robin sighed as they walked side by side. "I wish you didn't have to keep leaving," he told her, quite honestly, "I mean we go through this whole routine almost every day."

"I know, but what can I do about it? Henry has a life with them, so I have to be somewhat involved."

She had already had way too much involvement with the Charmings in the past, but Regina figured he wasn't in the mood for another one of her backstories.

"Hey, here's an idea," she began, "why don't you come with me this time?"

The brunette was surprised she hasn't thought of that before. "You have to get your son too. It works out."

Shrugging, Robin couldn't think of a reason not to. He wanted to get to know Charming and Snow better- it was obvious how much Regina avoided talking about them.

Regina smiled, taking his hand in hers. "Can I use the M word now?"

Robin nodded, and almost instantly after, the scene around him changed into a billow of purple smoke.  
\--

Surprise was the facial expression of everyone back at the room. Were their eyes deceiving them, or was Regina smiling like she was the happiest person in the world? She and Robin were strolling up to the small group, engaged in a conversation with one another that seemed pretty lighthearted.

"Whoa, Regina, you look so pretty!" Snow couldn't help but blurt out as they walked up to them. For a second, she forgot she was looking at her evil stepmother, the woman who hunted her like a hound dog for way too many years.

"What, this?" Regina basked in her compliment- they didn't come very often. "It's too nice outside for anything else."

"Regina!" Came Roland's voice from behind Snow, who came bounding up to her with his usual smile. "Neal took us to meet some giants who were really nice!"

"That sounds exciting," she replied, bending down to take him in her arms, "glad you had fun."

Robin loved seeing her with his son. Seeing them together almost made everything else feel better.

"Do you want to stay here for a while?" He asked Roland, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes! All night! As long as Regina and Henry are here too."

The Charmings all let out a collective laugh. "So guys, what do you want to do then?" Emma asked the group, not really sure herself. Robin almost never actually came to spend time with anyone except Regina and Roland.

"You know what I've missed?" David said, "having a campfire out in the open fields of the Enchanted Forest."

Snow grinned. "I used to do those all the time. Remember Regina?"

She nodded. "How could I forget? You demanded one almost every week."

Henry seemed excited. "You mean a real fire, like in the movies, where you roast marshmallows and stuff?"

Regina realized how pathetic that sounded. Storybrooke had proved to probably the smallest town in Maine, not to mention the fact that none of them could leave.

"Yeah, it would be fun!" Emma sided with her father, "then you and Roland can talk about how your afternoon went with Neal."

"Actually, I was thinking about going down to the village for some drinks tonight," Neal interjected, "it's been a while... And a long day."

Emma gave him a look. "Is that really the best idea?"

"It's been a very long while!" He shot back defensively, "you can come with if you want."

"Yeah, no thanks." She then gave Hook a threatening glance, for she knew that in any second he would ask to join in. Thankfully, he got the message. Emma knew that the two of them together, while drunk, wouldn't be a good thing at all.

David, Hook, and Robin all spent about an hour gathering firewood. The sun was slowly beginning to set in the sky, giving everyone enough time to prepare everything. A short while later, they were all sitting around the fire, laughing and talking with one another about topic after topic, not a care in the world.

The fire felt amazing on their skin as it illuminated all their faces. Henry noticed very quickly how close Robin and his mom seemed to be; if he didn't know any better, he would think the three of them looked like a happy little family. The boy couldn't help but feel left out... Maybe his suspicions were right; maybe she was replacing him with Roland. He already messed up too much for her to forgive him.

"Is everything okay?" Regina asked, noticing his troubled expression.

Henry simply shrugged, exchanging glances between her and Robin.

"There's... Something I should tell you." She said, warily, "Robin and I are dating now."

The boy didn't know what to say. Everything was slipping away so quickly.

"Does he make you happy?"

"Yeah, he does."

Robin couldn't help but smile when she said that.

Henry knew she would say yes. Everything was pointing towards it- the smiles, the way she dressed, everything. Henry knew he was in for a tough ride in the days coming up.

What he really wanted to say was, do I make you happy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know, why can't they all be happy? I'm sorry guys, it'll get better eventually :)


	19. Lazy Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see if we can resolve some of Henry's stress in this chapter, shall we?

Things eventually quieted down as it got later and later into the night. Robin left with a completely knocked out Roland around eleven, leaving everyone else to pack up and head to bed afterwards. Regina was getting used to sleeping on the floor- she hated it, but it was becoming a regular routine for her. Everyone, including the brunette, slept well in past the sunrise without hesitation.

Hook announced that he was heading out to meet some old friends of his sometime during the morning, but everyone was still half asleep and didn't bother to care.

Emma was slightly concerned with the fact that Neal hadn't returned that night- she really hoped he didn't get into any trouble.

Regina immediately knew that she didn't feel like doing a thing that day. It was times like these where she really missed cable tv. Everyone seemed to agree with her too, because nobody was quick to lift a finger of objection.

"I guess I'll go shower," Charming mumbled into his pillow, grudgingly getting up and starting for the bathroom.

"You mean pour a bucket of water on yourself?" Snow replied with weak sarcasm.

"Yeah, nothing better."

He missed his heated showers, his comfy bed, breakfast at Granny's... What were they thinking when they said it would be a good idea to come back?

Regina sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, glancing around the tranquil room until she came to her son, who looked still half asleep as he rubbed his eyes.

"Can we just stay in bed all day today?" He asked groggily, looking down at Emma, who had her face buried in her pillow. She muttered something back, but it sounded like a bunch of mumbles to him.

Snow shifted so she was laying on her stomach, her pillow still under her chin.

"Regina, you've been in the most wonderful mood this past few weeks." She stated bluntly, causing the queen to turn around to face with a slight surprise.

"Well I can't be mad all the time." Her stepmother replied, not knowing how else to defend herself.

"You spent more than twenty eight years being mad," Snow said back, "I haven't seen you like this since I was a teenager."

"What's your point?"

The woman smiled warmly. "The point is, I'm really glad you're happy again. If Robin really does that to you, you can't let him go."

Regina gave her a look. "I think I can manage my own life, but I'm glad you're supporting me on this."

"Who knows, maybe we could start acting like a family some day."

"Whoa there, don't get too crazy." Emma shot towards her mom, thinking about how outrageous the idea was.

"Yeah, let's take things a tad slower." Regina said, "like, I haven't thought about killing you in about two weeks. That's a personal goal for me."

Snow knew she was avoiding the subject, but there was nothing she could do about that.

"So, tell us what stuff you and Robin did yesterday..."

Regina rolled her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to go to another sleepover with the Charmings.

"None of your business," she said, giving her a cold look.

"Oh come on Regina," Snow groaned, "you can't expect us to sit here while you have a wonderful romantic love life."

"Being with David isn't satisfying enough?" She smirked, enjoying the look the woman was giving her.

"Romantic life?" Henry repeated, not believing his ears.

"Uh, I don't know about romantic." Regina said quickly, "I'm not very fantastic at it."

Henry averted his eyes back down to the white sheets underneath him. He didn't know what to think about that word- romantic.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Regina asked, with concern in her tone, "you haven't said a word to me since last night."

The boy tossed ideas back and forth in his head, deciding how to play the conversation out.

"It's nothing... I'm just not used to seeing you like this."

His reply was somewhat convincing, but Regina knew better. Having raised him for twelve years, she knew her son pretty well.

"Henry, are you jealous of Roland?"

She knew she hit the nail right on spot by the look on her face. The setting of their conversation wasn't ideal (nothing serious was ever ideal with Snow in the room) but Regina wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible. Contention wasn't something she neither wanted nor needed at the moment.

"Maybe a little... You just seem to treat him like he's your son too."

Regina shook her head slightly, leaning forward so she was on her knees in front of him. Grabbing his hands, she gave him an encouraging look.

"I've raised you since you were a baby, I know everything about you Henry- your secrets, your fears, your dreams... everything. I have been there for you the whole time; Henry, I'm your mother." She gave his hands a comforting squeeze, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. "No matter what happens, you will always be my son- and you will always be special to me."

Henry felt a rush of relief run through him; he couldn't help but crave his mother's words- her love, her care, the way she always made him feel better.

Emma and Snow sat in silence, both seemingly in shock from what they had just heard. They were both still adjusting to the new Regina.

"I just... I don't really want to share you with other people." He muttered, sounding sheepish about it.

Regina let out a small smile when she saw his face redden. "I guess you'll just have to get used to that. Do you know how long it's been since I've been with a guy I've really cared about?"

Henry knew that ruled out Graham. "This is the first guy since Daniel?"

Regina nodded slowly, trying not to think about him. It had been almost forever ago he had died, yet she still had nightmares about it from time to time. She thought about his last words to her- love again. That was what he had wanted for her.

"And do you know how tough it's been having to share you with Emma?" Almost on queue, the blonde lifted her head up from the bed and gave Regina look with narrowed eyes. "No offense."

Henry knew that was true. Trying would be tough, but he could manage somehow- if his mom, the evil queen could, anyone was capable of adjusting to change.

"So you'll try harder to accept Robin and Roland?"

"Yeah, I'll try..." He said back, sending her an encouraging smile.

"Henry, do you want to come with me to get some breakfast?" Snow asked, seeing the problem somewhat resolved. The boy nodded, presuming both his moms were okay with it. He was still feeling lazy, but getting out of the small living space seemed like a good idea.

Snow got off the bed and took his hand, heading for the door. "When David finally gets out of the shower, tell him I went out for a bit."

"And what are we supposed to do?"

"I'm gonna sleep." Emma answered quickly, her voice still muffled.

Snow didn't give a reply; instead, she closed the door without another word.

As soon as she left, Emma's head lifted up to face Regina.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I need some relationship advice," she said hesitantly, "Hook wants to take me out to the village or something later on today."

Regina smirked. "You're coming to me for advice?"

"I have no choice! I'm kinda freaking out here!"

"Okay fine," Regina surrendered, knowing she needed help, "so what about Hook liking you makes you nervous?"

The blonde sighed. "Okay, so yeah- he's really attractive. But... He's a pirate, how am I supposed to trust him?"

"Not that I'm picking sides, but you two do seem to have some sort of understanding with one another."

"Yeah, but..."

"Neal?" She finished her sentence for her, knowing already where the conversation was leading to.

Emma's face wore all sorts of expressions at once. "I just... I don't know Regina. Neal will always have a place in my heart, but I don't know if I could ever truly love him again. And then there's Henry..."

Finally, something both of them cared about. Regina knew all the new relationships were hard on him; the poor kid already had two mothers, a father he'd only known for a couple months, and grandparents- all the same age. He was the only child in his grade to ever move up, making him different from everyone else.

"I want him to be close to Neal, because... Because he deserves it. But I don't want him to be stressed out about Hook- he doesn't need that. Oh God, if Neal ever found out..."

"Hey hey, we're not saying you're dating him now, he just asked you to go to the village with him." Regina said calmly. The blonde looked so stressed it was almost contagious.

"I know... I just don't know how I feel about him. I don't know how I feel about Neal. Henry is the most important guy in my life right now, I shouldn't have to worry about any of this bullshit!"

Regina knew that her own relationship issues only added to the problem. "Listen to me Emma," she instructed her, "you don't need to panic about it. Just take things slow, and be honest with Hook. If you turn out liking him more after your date, then fine. You don't have to tell Henry until things get more serious. And if he asks, make sure to a completely honest with him. And as far as Neal is concerned... Well, screw him. If he's pissed about you going to the village with Hook, let him. He has no right to tell you who you can and cannot date, that's your choice. But Emma, you don't know how you feel until you get out there and try."

Emma listened carefully to what she said, slightly surprised she had so much knowledge to her about the subject. Robin must've had a special hold on her, it was like she was a completely different person.

"Thanks Regina," she said, the stress fading away into a relieved smile.

The other woman returned the smile without hesitation. "And, if the pirate tries anything with you..." She opened her hand, releasing a flaming ball of fire, "don't be afraid to terrify him with your magic. You remember how to do this one, right?"

She had given the blonde a few lessons here and there, but nobody else knew she was slowly learning magic. Emma concentrated hard on focusing her mind. She closed her eyes and opened her hand, soon smelling the distinct small of smoke. She let out a rejoiced laugh as she extinguished it quickly.

"Very good. I'll teach you something else later, if you want."

"You know, magic actually isn't as hard as I thought it would be." Emma told her, "it's gets easier the more I practice."

Regina smiled, feeling rather pleased with herself. "Now you're ready for that date. And, don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it if that's what want."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't know what I would do without you

Regina." Emma said, "even if you are my grandma."

Regina scowled at that word again. "As long as Henry's happy. That's all that matters here."

Emma could agree more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, finally touching back to Emma's love life. Now don't all freak out and hate me Swanfire shippers, I never said who she's gonna end up falling for. As Regina said, she has to try for both sides to see who she likes better. But despite all the Outlaw Queen, Captain Swan, and Swanfire, Henry will always be the number one man here lol


	20. Just a Memory

When Roland woke up, he crawled his way out of the warm covers and immediately headed for the kitchen, dragging his blanket behind him as he went. He stood there and looked around quickly, his face soon falling slightly. The kitchen was absolutely dormant, and Regina was nowhere to be found.

"Why are you up so early?" Robin asked, seeing his son standing in the empty kitchen for no apparent reason. After a second, though, his mind registered the reason behind his unusual actions.

"Were you hoping Regina would be here cooking something for us?"

The little boy turned around so he was facing him. "I like it when she's here."

Robin smiled, going over to scoop him up in his arms. "Me too."

Roland giggled as he started to tickle him; his dad knew just how to make him laugh.

"Don't worry, I'll make something for us so we don't starve."

Setting him on the counter, Robin got out two containers from the cupboards. "Oatmeal or grits?"

Roland scrunched his face as he imposed the familiar question. He absolutely hated both of them. What he really wanted was more of the yummy stuff Regina had made. Pointing towards the box of oats, Robin started on preparing breakfast.

It was almost ridiculous how quickly everything seemed to begin revolving around Regina. Robin had spent four years independently taking care of his son- he thought he did a pretty job at it. then, all of a sudden, Regina came into their lives and completely changed everything. He no longer stressed about Roland and his well being.

With Regina around, he was able to finally breathe. In just about a month, she was cleaning his house, helping to take care of his boy, and making them breakfast.

"Daddy, what do you and Regina do when I'm not here?"

His small voice snapped him back to reality, catching him off guard.

"We, uh, talk and stuff," he really didn't know what to say. Roland was four, how was he supposed to explain the concept of dating to him? It only added to the fact that he had nothing to base it off of.

"Talk?" He repeated, "talk about what kind of stuff?"

The heat from the stove increased as Robin began stirring their breakfast.

"Why so interested?"

Roland flashed his dad a grand smile. "Because I know she really likes you."

Raising an eyebrow, he turned to face him. "Yeah? How do you know?"

"It's the way she looks at you." He replied, surprising the man. He was still a toddler, when did he get so insightful?

"And you're always happy now," Roland continued, "before you were sad."

"I'm never sad when you're around, Roland. You make me happy."

"But Regina makes you happy too now. That's the way families are supposed to be like- a mommy, a daddy, and a baby."

"I guess you're the baby then." Robin replied, ruffling his hair.

"Does everyone have a mommy?" The four year old asked, moving his head to the side.

"Yeah, everyone does." Robin really didn't want to have this conversation, for multiple reasons.

"So I had a mommy once?"

He sighed, knowing that was coming. "We've been over this Roland, she died. She loved you, but she got sick."

"Do you think Regina could be my new mommy?"

The question was thrown like a curveball towards him. It made him sad inside that Roland never got to know his mother; she was just an idea to Roland and a distant memory to him. "Well... I guess she's like a mommy to you. But you'd just have to ask her about it- it's a really important thing to call someone."

Roland thought about that for a moment before coming up with his answer.

Before he could tell his dad it though, he saw dark smoke coming up behind him.

"Daddy, the oats are on fire again!" He pointed, causing him to spin around and swear to himself.

"Not again," he muttered, grabbing a handful of flour and throwing it on the flaming pot of oats.

Clapping the flour off his hands, Robin turned towards his son with an exasperation expression on his face.

They really needed Regina.


	21. Happy Endings

There was a loud banging at their door. Regina, Emma, and David both glanced up in surprise, not knowing who on earth the person on the other side could be. David got up and opened the door, surprised to see who it was.

"Robin?" Regina asked in disbelief, seeing the man breathing hard, as if he had just finished a run. "What are you doing here- did you... Run all the way here?"

Charming let the other man through. Robin walked over to Regina, seeming exasperated and rather desperate.

"Yeah... I did."

"Why?"

Regina stood up to face him, suddenly growing concerned. "Is Roland okay?"

"He is. That's not why I'm here." Robin put his hands on her shoulders while both Emma and David tried not to stare continually at them.

"I'm here because I realized something."

Regina raised her eyebrows at him, wondering why he was acting so upfront with her.

"Regina, I can't cook. Like, at all." Robin breathed out, seeming absolutely relieved to get it out of his system.

Regina paused for a second, not sure if she heard him right. Then she let out a laugh, covering her hands over her mouth.

"Did- did you run all the way here... To tell me you can't cook?!"

Her sides quickly began aching from the laughter; she wasn't used to laughing that much.

Robin nodded, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a short kiss. "Can you come and cook something for me and Roland? Please?"

Their faces were inches apart from one another as he spoke. Regina let out another chuckle.

"Actually, Snow and Henry went out to get something for us- you're welcome to join in if you want."

"Between you and me, you're cooking is probably way better than anything bought in the village."

Regina grinned back at him. "What do you suppose we do then?"

"You're coming with me and you're not leaving until I say so."

Shrugging, Regina looked back towards Emma. "If Henry asks, tell him-"

"I think he'll know where you'll be," Emma said sarcastically, cutting her sentence off.

Regina took his hand and soon they both disappeared, leaving David alone with Emma, who both seemed to be at a loss of words with one another.

"Seriously, what would you do without me?" The brunette asked as she entered his house, "you're absolutely pathetic."

"Regina you're back!" Roland yelled, racing towards her. "I'm hungry and daddy burnt the oats!"

She looked over towards the stove, where the pot was; it filled with a blackened mess and carried the stench of fire. "You... Burnt oats, hm?"

The expression on his face was timeless. "It was just a simple mishap, that's all."

"...absolutely pathetic."

Regina strode over to the kitchen, taking no hesitation to get rid of the oats. "What do you want to eat Roland?"

She already knew the answer; they were guys, they wanted meat. Henry always begged for bacon and sausage in the mornings, he absolutely lived for that stuff. It was unhealthy in all ways possible, but even Regina had to admit it tasted good.

"Sausage!"

Cooking wasn't something she felt like laboring over at the moment, so she simply waved her hand over a plate and filled it with four steaming sausages. Roland immediately reached his arm over to get one, but Regina grabbed the plate before he could.

"Sit up at the table first," she instructed, right before Robin reached behind her and snatched one. She scowled as he took a bite out of it, giving him a light punch on the shoulder as he gave her a successful grin.

"At least Roland listens to me," Regina set the plate down on the table, and helped the boy into his chair, Robin following.

"We can have breakfast like normal, civilized people, it's not that hard."

She created a pitcher of orange juice and poured Roland a glass. They are in silence for a moment before a question came to her mind.

"What do you guys do when I'm here?"

Roland swallowed his food quickly and replied right before Robin could. "We talk about you."

Regina gave Robin a surprised look. "You talk about me?"

"Well, not really..." He said back, trying to dull it down.

"What do you boys say about me?" She directed the question towards Roland because she knew he wouldn't lie to her.

The four year old flashed her a devious smile. "It's a secret."

The question still remained in her mind, but they all continued to eat in a peaceful silence after that. Once Roland finished off his plate, he took it over to the sink and dropped it in.

"Daddy, can I go play over at Parker's house?" He asked, causing Robin to glance over at him.

"Uh, sure, just be careful on the way over there." He said, Roland already waiting at the front door.

"Bye Roland!" Regina called after him as the door closed behind him.

"So you let him walk over there by himself?" She asked Robin, "isn't it far?"

"It's a straight shot, he's done it before," he replied, "Roland doesn't do many things with his friend Parker anymore."

Regina could see that happening. Roland was a pretty shy boy; he kept to himself a lot.

"So... what are we going to do then?"

Considering the fact that they were alone, their choices were pretty vast. He simply smiled towards her.

They were both on the couch; Regina was pressed up against the side with Robin leaning on her slightly as his lips touched hers, his hands placed behind on her back.

Regina honestly didn't know how it happened so fast. She felt such a weird feeling when he touched her, it was like a drug and she couldn't stop taking it. The only thing that stopped them was the need for air.

Suddenly, Regina was very glad Roland left for a play date.

"I really like kissing you." She muttered, silenced seconds later with another kiss.

"Me too." Robin replied, "mostly because you're so good at it."

He was starting to loose his control on her; he really couldn't help himself. He moved his hands from behind her and found hers, gently leaning back as he stood on his feet. Her back met up with the wall as he blindly lead her across the living room, his hands tight around her waist. Somehow they both stumbled into his bedroom, the frame of the bed causing Regina to fall back onto it. He made sure not to put his full weight on her as he kissed down her neck, soon pulling back to look into her eyes for permission.

Regina responded by reaching for the back of his shirt, pulling it over his head after some tugging.

This was her happy ending- and she wasn't going to let anybody take it away from her again.


	22. Stepping it Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the Captain Swan date chapter! (finally I know) I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Nicole, who has been patiently waiting for me to write this. And to my Swanthief shippers, don't let this deter you! I love you guys too- I pinky promise there will be Neal/Emma interaction in the near future :)

"Are you ready to go Emma?"

The blonde looked up in surprise towards the pirate. For a second, she didn't know what he was talking about. Then the memory of their past conversation hit.

"Now?" She asked back, setting down her fork.

"It's a great day outside, I don't see why not." Hook replied.

"Wait. What's happening?" Snow asked, seeing her daughters perplexed expression.

Emma sighed. "I... Told Hook we could go to the village today, nothing big."

She tried keeping her voice hushed; she really wasn't in the mood for a debate with her parents about her dating life. As she expected, Neal was up out of his bed as snapped into a defensive mode.

"Emma, you're... Going out with this guy?"

"No, I'm not!" She shot back irritably, knowing her son would be on her case next. "I just need a break from all this, that's it."

Before anyone else had the chance, Emma grabbed Killian by the hand and lead him towards the door. She tried her best to avoid the hurt expression on Neal's face as they left the Charmings behind them.

"Ugh, you had to do that in from of everyone?" Emma asked him irritably, slightly sad she left half her breakfast behind.

"Sorry, love, how was I supposed to know you wanted it to be a secret?" Hook responded, trying to keep up with her fast pace.

"Well now Neal's gonna be on my case! Henry too!"

"You shouldn't have to worry about what Neal thinks," he told her, "whatever is between you and him should stay between you two- let's just have a good time at the villages and forget all that."

Emma knew he was right. She was somewhat excited to finally have something planned; they had been in the enchanted forest for a month and all she ever did was hang out with her parents and meet old friends of theirs that believed she was a princess.

"So what are we going to do?"

Hook smiled. "There's a small festival of sorts going on around the south side, thought it would be fun."

In her mind, she pictured a undermined carnival- she was quite a fan of those when they rolled into town and she got to go while in the foster system.

The streets were flooded with people walking every which way when they arrived. Emma stayed close to the pirate so she wouldn't get lost in the massive crowd. Everything seemed alive that afternoon; the sun was beating down directly at them and the sky was a perfect blue.

"Where do you want to go first, Swan?" Hook asked, scanning past the people with narrowed eyes.

Emma did the same, soon spotting a ring toss station. Three teenage boys were standing in front of it, each holding one or two rings as they threw them at the targets (and failed miserably while doing so) She gave the pirate a nudge and started off for the station. Hook fished out a coin and handed it to the man behind the rope, who then presented him with ten wooden rings.

"Are you good at these, love?"

Giving him a look, Emma took her five rings. "Watch and learn." She then walked up beside the teenagers, taking one and setting herself up for the throw. They all gave her looks as they stopped to watch. Their expressions soon turned to shock when she nailed every single one in about give seconds.

"That's how it's done," she said, rather triumphantly. "Your turn." Emma gave Killian a lighthearted smirk.

"I didn't realize you were a professional..." He muttered, taking his stance. He bit his tongue to keep the pressure of Emma staring at him from making him worse than he knew he already was.

Hook missed all but two, causing Emma to let out a small laugh. "You have to put more force into it," she told him, swiping the last one from his hands before he could use it.

"Do it like this."

She pinned the target and threw the ring, watching it has it successfully landed on the rod. The man running the booth presented her with a box of prizes, and she quickly chose a glass necklace with a leather string.

"Whoa, lady you gotta show us how you do that." One of the teenage boys said, looking at her like she wasn't from this world.

"First off, lady? Oh hell no. Just because I'm thirty doesn't mean I'm a lady. Secondly, I don't give lessons to boys."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm fifteen! And you're the hottest lady I've never seen."

"Now you listen here mate-"

"Okay, let's go Hook," Emma growled, forcing him away from them. They walked swiftly back into the flow of people.

"Gross," she muttered to herself, trying to wipe the disgusted look off her face. "Hey look, it's of those strength tester things." She said, pointing towards the tall rod with the bell on top. Killian knew he had to step up his game, she already beat him once.

"Are you feeling luckily today sir?" The man asked as soon as they got there, handing Hook a worn mallet.

"Always," he responded, fitting it comfortably in his palm before giving Emma one of his looks.

He propped it up on his shoulder and swung it down with an inpendable amount of force, causing the metal ball in the middle to soar all the way up to the top, where it caused the bell to clang loudly. Killian gave Emma an extremely pleased look.

"You're such a showoff," she said, rolling her eyes, "let me have a whack at it."

Hook gladly took his prize, a small wooden horse, and handed the mallet to her. "You can try, love."

Although she thought the pirate acting like a complete douche was amusing, she was tired of letting him take the lead on things. She was Emma Swan; she was a dragon slayer and a curse breaker. It was time for her to step up.

She shrugged off her black jacket, revealing her red t- shirt. Crashing the hammer down, the bell sounded in a split second. Emma straightened up and smiled slyly over towards the dumbstruck pirate who was without a doubt checking out her guns. She took her wooden horse and examined it for a few seconds.

"My horse is better than yours," she grinned, walking off before he could say a response.

Killian shook his head slightly, turning to follow her back down the street. So it begins, he thought. Game on, Swan.  
\--

The man paced the floor of the small room back and forth, a puzzled look on his face.

Was Emma really not into him anymore?

Neal just didn't understand it- he knew he should have tried to make a move on her sooner, but he didn't want to rush anything. She was always so hesitant to have those conversations with him ever since he came back. But then, just like that, she goes for the pirate because he asks her out on a date?

"Dad, you can stop pacing now," Henry said, cutting through his rapid thoughts. Neal froze in place, taking a sigh and sitting down next to him.

"I know... I just don't know how I feel about Emma going off with that guy- you just don't understand Henry, he's not a good person!"

Henry looked back at him comfortingly. "Hey, Emma will be fine. She always is. She knows how to look out for herself."

"How... How are you so calm?" He asked, completely confused at his sons behavior.

Henry shrugged, seeming nonchalant. "I trust mom, that's why. And she never said she had feelings for him, she just wants to do something fun out of this room."

"But I know Hook, he'll try something on her!" Neal felt somewhat pathetic coming to his twelve year old son for confidence.

"Like I said, she can handle herself," Henry replied, giving his dad a serious look.

"But dad, if you want to get her back, you better step it up."

Neal knew he was right. Emma was his one and only true love, he didn't know what he would do if she didn't belong to him. But he also knew he had hurt her badly.

"What do you want Henry?"

The boy took a few seconds to process the question- he thought about his over complicated family; Regina and her new life, Emma and her tear between the pirate and his father, and his grandparents. He thought about the common struggle all of them faced while in the Enchanted Forest before; the struggle for a real happy ending. And he realized, that was what he wanted for him, as well as all of them.

"I want us all to love each other," Henry replied, "no matter what happens, we need to love each other like a family."

He couldn't be more right.  
\--

Their little outing had turned into a frivolous game. It was starting to become child's play; Emma would win, and Hook would loose horribly. Hook would win, and then Emma would loose horribly. The cycle was beginning to become tiring, but never any less entertaining.

The only thing that had stopped them from getting to all the booths was the rain that came around two. Most everyone cleared out of the streets and huddled into the indoor shops, leaving the cobblestone roadways almost completely barren. Emma didn't mind getting wet, neither did Killian apparently. Hook paid for their lunch, and soon both of them were walking down the middle of the street with a turkey leg in hand. The pirate had honestly never seen her this attractive before- raindrops dripped from her hair, she was completely soaked as she continued to take bites out of the meat.

They both found an empty table (that wasn't that hard to find) and sat down, not bothering to shelter themselves from the rain.

"You know, I really had fun today." Emma said, sounding completely genuine.

"Me too. See, I told you it was possible to get you out of that room." Killian replied, raising his eyebrow at her.

She took another bite of her turkey leg, loving the feel of the rain touching her skin. "I guess you proved me wrong, pirate."

Eventually they made their way back to the hotel building, after the rain had stopped beating down so hard. The two of them were still soaked; the wetness covered every surface of the world around them, the sun making it gleam like an unseen treasure.

Part of Emma didn't want to return; the daring, careless side of her was able to come out again and she couldn't help but love it. It seemed so easy to throw everything away and live the days by the second, but of course that would mean giving up more than she would receive. Never would she leave Henry, her parents, even Neal. The sense of belonging they gave her was something truly special. But now there was Killian Jones, a pirate she was supposed to dislike.

"Oh good, you're finally back!" Emma heard Snow exclaim as they entered through the doorway.

"Why are you wet?"

"We got stuck in the rain," she replied, smiling when she caught sight of her son.

"Did you... Have fun?" Her father asked, rather warily.

"Yeah, I did," Emma said, giving Hook a small smile. "Is Tinkerbell still not back yet?"

"She said that the other fairies are giving her another chance," Snow told her, "so I don't know if she'll ever be back."

Emma was suddenly curious as to why everyone looked like something big was on their minds.

"Emma, we need to talk about something," David said slowly- she was right.

"We're... Thinking about going back home."

The blonde's eyes widened slightly. "Home, as in Storybrooke?"

Her parents both nodded in unison.

Emma blew out a sigh- everyone wanted to go back, that was evident. Everyone except Regina.


	23. Decisions

The journey across the field was an extremely long one. Emma had to give Robin props for running all the way there earlier that morning; the heat was slowly wearing her down- she just hoped she was heading in the right direction.

Emma was beyond relieved that both Snow and Charming finally brought up the idea of going back home. Nobody really wanted to bring up the topic for fear they would be offended or something. Despite Emma and Henry, who grew up in the real world, they had spent their lives there. She missed her coffee maker, her warm bed, and, most of all, cable television. There was nothing fun about going to the bathroom on the ground.

As she trudged across the field, she narrowed her eyes, seeing something odd off in the distance. Concentrating harder on it, Emma soon realized that the object was actually a small person- Roland.

"Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?" She called towards him, catching his attention almost instantly. Instead of yelling back a response, he started off towards her.

"I went to my friend's house," he replied, just about out of breath when he slowed down next to her.

It didn't take long for Emma to slowly out two and two together with that information. "So you left Robin and Regina alone in your house?"

The boy nodded. "Is that a bad thing? Will they be lonely without me there?"

Emma couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Depends on how you look at it kid- and I'm sure they're coping just fine."

They finished walking the short distance to the house together, soon both staring at the wooden door in front of them. Emma spent a few seconds debating whether or not she should do the right thing or not- she quickly chose the option that would humiliate Regina the most.

"Okay kid, bang on the door and call for your dad... Loudly, so they can hear you."

Roland wore a confused look on his face. "Why can't they hear me?"

"Just do it," Emma retorted, rather excited to see how this would play out.

"Daddy! Regina! I'm home!" Roland shouted, banging both fists against the door.

Inside, the two jumped out of Robin's bed faster than both thought possible, throwing clothes at one another and swearing in hushed whispers. Regina tossed Robin his shirt and got down on her knees to search for her own beneath the bed.

"Go, answer the damn door," she told him, nearly shoving him towards the exit of the room. He stumbled across the foyer and made it to the door, swinging it open to silence the constant banging.

"Hey Roland, wasn't expecting you back so soon." Robin said, sending Emma a scowl as soon as he ran past him.

"And wasn't expecting company at all," he muttered, making Emma have to retain a grin.

"Look, I'm sorry- really am."

"Miss Swan what do you think you're doing here?" Demanded Regina, who was running her hands through her hair as she walked briskly towards the door.

"There's something... Important we need to discuss with everyone," Emma started off slowly, "Snow wanted me to get you three as soon as possible."

Regina folded her arms crossly; an all important discussion wasn't something she planned on. But if it had to be done, there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"What's this all about?"

"Let's just... Wait to talk about it until we get there." The blonde replied.

Rolling her eyes, Regina took Roland's hand. "Do you want to try getting us there?"

Emma shook her head. "If I tried we would probably end up back in Neverland."

She knew that probably would end up happening, so she flicked her wrist like she had done thousands of times before and the four of them vanished into thin air.

When they arrived at the hotel room, the first thing Regina noticed was the fact that everyone looked extremely uneasy. Tinkerbell was finally back, making the room seem exceptionally packed.

"Alright, what's this all about?" Regina asked again, this time really wanting an answer. The whole feel of the room in general seemed off somehow, she just couldn't pin what it was.

"Why don't you guys sit down," Charming said, though there wasn't a whole lot of space to do so.

Snow then took a deep breath, preparing to propose the question.

"We were thinking and... We all think it's time to go back to Storybrooke." She told them slowly, seeing all their faces become deep in thought.

Regina honestly didn't even think of that as a possibility, though it seemed so obvious now. She had been to busy with Robin and Roland to think about everyone else's plans. As she thought more about it, Regina realized why they were so wary to tell her- it was just that, she was too busy with Robin and Roland.

"It's been fun being back here where we used to live, but we have to think about everyone waiting for us back in Storybrooke." David said, "and besides, we all miss it there."

It was true, Regina was beginning to miss her house back in the town she had created. But, in all honesty, she didn't care everything she had left there. She automatically knew she wasn't ready to give up what she had with Robin and his son.

"So we need everyone's votes," Snow told them, "who wants to go back and who doesn't?"

"I have no reason to stay here," Killian said, receiving a darkened look from Neal.

"Yeah, me too. As long as I have Emma and Henry." Neal said next, tearing his eyes from the pirate.

Everyone then looked towards Tinkerbell, who seemed torn. "I know you guys said I could come with you to start over, but the other fairies are finally accepting me again. They heard about how I got you all out of Neverland and they think I can fully become one of them soon." She said, not even bothering to hide her excitement. It also helped that the blue fairy wasn't there anymore. "So... I think I'm going to stay."

Snow was sad to see her go, but she was happy for her. "Well we all wish you the best of luck."

Then it was Emma's turn. "You already know my vote."

It was finally Regina's time to decide. Robin was nervous to hear what she would choose; he wasn't sure how badly she wanted to go back.

"What if... What if you and Roland come with me to Storybrooke?" She asked hesitantly, "I don't think I could leave you two behind."

It was such a huge question Robin had to pause and think for a moment. The offer sounded great, but he knew in his heart what he had to do.

"Regina, I can't leave my Merry Men. They need me; we're all dedicated to a cause I can't walk away from."

His words were like a weight on her chest. There were only two other options. the stress began to build inside of her as the seconds ticked by, everyone waiting for a response. It was such a big decision, something she wouldn't be able to undo once she made it. Everything came down to one simple question- was she willing to take a leap of faith?

"Then... I guess I'll have to stay. With you, if you'll let me."

Roland furrowed his brow as he tried to keep up with the conversation. He didn't really know what was going on but he was pretty sure Regina just said she wanted to live with them.

Robin smiled, inwardly begging that she would make that choice. "Of course it's okay with me."

Regina couldn't help but feel incredibly relieved when she heard this- he wanted her to stay. Suddenly the room burst with commotion as David and Emma began chattering about ways to obtain a portal. Soon, everyone was so preoccupied, nobody heard Henry's voice speak up.

"If Regina's staying, I have to too."

The room became dead silent. All heads turned towards the boy in surprise, mouths slightly open in shock.

"What?" Emma questioned, feeling a wave of dizziness hit her. She wasn't sure if she heard him right.

"I have to stay if she's staying." He repeated, louder this time.

Still, nobody found words they were able to speak. Regina stared at her son, completely stunned. He was willing to stay? It was like he read her mind; he would be the only reason her choice would be compromised.

"Henry, you would be way better off coming with us," Neal attempted, though Henry seemed already set in his decision.

"I can't go back knowing you could be in danger, or- or sad..." Emma trailed off, looking at him like he was insane.

Regina knew she shouldn't take offense to that remark, Emma was simply doing what all mothers do- she would know.

"I just, I have to stay." Henry said, furrowing his brow, "not that I don't trust you Robin, because I do, but she needs me. I can't leave her."

Inside, the blonde was feeling a torment of emotions. A numbness started to overtake her as she realized that, being related to her, he wasn't going to budge. She had lost him once in Neverland; being away from him again made her head spin. Being in two separate realms seemed unbearable.

"Henry... I don't know what I would do without you," she replied, her voice wavering as she spoke.

The twelve year old couldn't look at her without his emotions taking over. He knew he would miss her and Neal, but he was determined to keep his promise to Regina. He wouldn't leave her like he did the first time.

"When are we leaving?" Neal asked solemnly, silence taking over the room.

"Tomorrow, if we can. Robin, do you still have that talisman with you?"

It had been such a long time since he had thought about the small ring Merlin gave him; they never ended up using it, so it had stayed in his pocket for what seemed like an eternity since Roland had came back.

"Yeah, it's right here," he replied, fishing out the small silver ring from his side pocket. Everyone glanced at it in anticipation- it was their ticket home.

**Author's Note:**

> Continuing, so read on!


End file.
